Maryland is home to around 975,000 senior citizens, making the need for quality senior care very clear.
Do you have a loved one entering their senior years? Are they exhibiting age-related health issues that you and your family can no longer ignore?
It’s difficult to watch a loved one age, especially when they start to slow down significantly. Choosing to go into a senior living community can be overwhelming, but it’s often the best choice for their health and safety.
In today’s post, we’ll help you choose the best-assisted living in Hagerstown to make the process easier. There are lots of senior communities available, but keep reading, and you’ll know exactly what to look for to make your loved one’s transition into the community seamless.
Consider Your Loved One’s Care Needs
Before you can really begin your search for Hagerstown elderly care, you need to consider your loved one’s needs. There are different types of senior communities and which one you choose will have a direct impact on your loved one’s care. It’s important to match your loved one’s needs with the services on offer.
Independent Living
The most basic form of senior living is an independent living community. This type of care is best suited for seniors who are relatively healthy but want to downsize and enjoy a low-maintenance, leisurely lifestyle around people their age.
Assisted Living
When your loved one has more pressing health issues that prevent them from living a fruitful day-to-day life, assisted living services are the better choice. An assisted living community has staff around 24/7 to take care of residents and help them navigate their health problems.
Whether your loved one needs assistance with personal hygiene or taking medication, a compassionate staff member is available to help.
Memory Care
For those dealing with the effects of Alzheimer’s and dementia – conditions affecting around 7 million Americans – memory care is needed. This is a specialized form of assisted living that gives residents access to staff who are qualified to help them navigate the evolving challenges of cognitive decline.
How to Find the Best Assisted Living Community
Once you’ve got a sense of the type of senior care you need, you can start your search in earnest. Of course, you’ll have specific criteria you’re looking for, but there are universal things you must consider as well. Here are a few of the top factors in choosing an assisted living community:
Location
No matter how great a community is, the transition into senior living can be overwhelming for new residents. You can minimize this feeling for your loved one by choosing a nearby community.
Doing so will keep them in familiar and comfortable surroundings. It’ll also make it easier for friends and family to pay your loved one visits, making the transition more comfortable, whether you’re looking for long-term living or respite care in Hagerstown.
Ratings and Reviews
When you start searching for nearby communities, type “senior living Hagerstown” into Google. This will give you all of your options. From there, you can look at ratings and reviews to determine the quality of the various local communities.
No one can tell you more about daily life in a given community than the loved ones of current and former residents. What you’re really looking for are red flags about staff or resident satisfaction that can eliminate certain communities from contention. Choose a few of the top-rated communities and take tours with your loved one.
Amenities
The amenities that a community offers can often tip the balance in this major decision. Every community has unique amenities, so your loved one’s interests will determine which amenities matter to them.
Some communities have beautiful gardens and walking paths while others have fitness centers and spas. When taking a tour, make sure to look at the state of the amenities to see if they’re in good repair for residents.
Activities
Programming is an important part of senior care. A daily activity calendar should be in place to keep residents happy and entertained. At the same time, these activities need to promote the physical and mental health of the residents.
Seniors need at least 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic exercise to remain in good health. At the same time, they need plenty of socialization to avoid feelings of depression and anxiety, which are rampant in the senior population.
On any given day, a good community will have various activities to facilitate these needs. One day might have a yoga class and the next might have a walking club. Look at the activity calendar when you take a tour to see what your loved one might have in store.
Dining
In-house dining is an important part of your loved one’s ongoing health. All seniors need a balanced diet full of nutrients to avoid things like diabetes and heart disease. It becomes harder and harder for seniors to stay motivated to cook healthy meals for themselves.
A good community will have an in-house restaurant that offers a rotating menu of tasty and healthy meals for residents. When you tour communities, make sure to try a tasting menu and see if it’s fitting for your loved one’s dietary needs and tastes.
Staff Qualifications
Perhaps the most important aspect of senior living is the staff. These are the people who will be around your loved one day in and day out. Their level of compassion and qualifications are essential to ensuring a high level of care while your loved one is in the community.
When you’re looking at assisted living and memory care, staff are intimately involved in residents’ daily lives. During your tours, make sure to speak to staff and residents to get a sense of who the people are who will be looking after your loved one.
Choose Seaton for Assisted Living in Hagerstown
Finding assisted living in Hagerstown doesn’t have to be difficult. If you take our advice, you’ll find the perfect community to care for your loved one.
At Seaton Hagerstown, we pride ourselves on providing local seniors with the highest quality of living possible. We offer a variety of amazing programs that look after the nutrition, health, and wellness of our residents. Contact us today to schedule a tour of our community and see it for yourself.
