As our loved ones age, they need more care as they may have challenges performing activities of daily living such as bathing, grooming, or transferring. In the beginning, we may be the ones caring for them, but sometimes, they may need specialized care, which may call for alternative care options.
It doesn’t mean you have failed as a caregiver if you are considering other senior care options. A lot of factors can make external help necessary. Depending on your loved one’s health concerns, you can consider home care, independent living, assisted living, or nursing home care.
Studies project that America’s senior population will reach 95 million by 2060 from the current 52 million. This means that the senior care industry will expand to accommodate the needs of these seniors. One of the driving forces of this projected growth is the growing geriatric population, which will require assistance, companionship, and security.
Senior assisted living is a type of care where your loved one gets personalized care, leads a healthy lifestyle, and engages in social activities in a residential setting.
An assisted living home is ideal for seniors needing assistance with carrying out activities of daily living(ADLs) like bathing and toileting, but do not require constant medical care. Some of the most common services offered at an assisted living home include and are not limited to:
When seniors move into an assisted living facility, they can bring their stuff and furniture. Assisted living homes allow seniors to enjoy their independence in a safe environment where they can interact with other seniors.
At Amy’s Eden, we assess a resident when they move in, which helps us develop a customized care plan that uniquely covers their needs. Our homes cater to a few residents at a time, giving a resident the feeling of still being at home.
At Amy’s Eden, the benefits of senior assisted living care include compassionate care while helping seniors with their ADLs, paired with a life full of social activities, exercises, wellness programs, and outings that ensure your loved one thrives.
Other benefits of senior assisted living include:
As a person ages, their social life might change, and they may feel lonely. When they move into an assisted living home, their social lives will change for the better, as one of the most incredible benefits of joining an assisted living home is having an active social life.
Assisted living homes have activities designed to foster senior social connections as the residents engage in them. These social activities include outings, arts and crafts, gardening, music, book clubs, and playing musical instruments.
When your loved one moves into a senior assisted care home, you know their safety and security are assured. Assisted living homes have security measures to guarantee your loved one’s safety without hindering their independence and freedom.
Some safety measures include CCTVs, fenced compounds, and a staff that is always alert in case a senior tends to wander off.
At an assisted living home, your loved one can engage in physical activities and exercises that help them maintain their physical health.
Keeping physically fit helps a senior in several ways:
Sometimes seniors might fail to take better care of themselves, especially when battling depression or dementia. At an assisted living home, one thing you can be sure of is that your loved one will have great food they will enjoy. Assisted living homes make sumptuous meals that are nutritious as they have to consider the various dietary needs of their residents.
At least, your loved one will have three healthy and nutritious meals daily. At Amy’s Eden, our residents help our chef prepare meals if they want to, ensuring they have meals they like and meet their dietary requirements.
One of the challenges facing many seniors is maintaining their homes. With declining medical health, most seniors find it challenging to keep their homes as they would like.
When they move into an assisted living home, they don’t have to worry about mowing their lawns, repairing the roof, and other home maintenance requirements, as the homes have personnel to deal with such matters.
Assisted living care usually excels at providing personal care to its residents. Personal care includes assistance with activities of daily living, which depends on the level of care that each resident requires.
Some residents may need assistance with toileting, while others require assistance to get in and out of bed. At Amy’s Eden, we encourage our residents to retain control and independence over their lives while still accessing our excellent assistance. Striking this balance ensures we stand out as the number one senior care provider in Carson and Reno.
Assisted living care reduces stress for you and your loved one, ensuring peace of mind. With less stress, your loved one will lead a quality lifestyle. Your loved one will have an active social life with their peers while still having excellent care and support.
When it comes to Independent living care, it is ideal for seniors above 55 and who don’t need assistance with performing their ADLs. This type of senior care suits seniors looking for communities offering companionship, socialization, additional support, and onsite amenities.
Independent living care allows a senior to live independently while enjoying community offerings.
Your loved one can choose to live in an apartment, a townhome, or a single-family unit. Living in an independent living home helps your loved ones lead a more accessible and more comfortable lifestyle. A senior will leave behind the hassle and challenges accompanying home ownership, like home maintenance, to live a vibrant and comfortable lifestyle after retirement.
When considering the cost of independent living, utilities, and rent play a crucial role. However, additional charges could be incurred depending on the meal plan your loved one chooses.
When it comes to paying for senior care, independent living doesn’t qualify for some medical coverage and government aid, as it doesn’t offer medical services. Medicaid, Medicare, insurance coverage, and other government financial aid programs will not cover independent living.
A senior can use the following methods to cover the cost of independent living:
This type of care is ideal for a senior needing assistance with personal care. Assisted homes also offer activities geared towards the socialization of seniors.
The cost of these facilities usually includes utilities, rent, and other essential services like meals and housekeeping. However, the price will also increase if a senior requires more care.
Assisted living care offers several payment options. You or your loved one can pay using the following payment options:
Seniors benefit from nursing home care services if they have highly demanding or complex medical conditions. Some of these medical conditions include dementia, Alzheimer’s, severe mobility issues, and chronic illness.
Most of these medical conditions usually limit independence. Nursing homes typically focus on meeting the medical demands of their residents by monitoring and supporting their patients.
When paying for your loved one’s nursing home care services, the cost tends to be higher than independent or assisted living care. Nursing homes provide a high level of care, which leads to the high price of their services. Due to this high cost of care in a nursing home, you may use several payment options simultaneously.
You can use the following methods to pay for nursing services:
This is a federal and state program covering medical costs for seniors with low income. If your loved one qualifies for Medicaid, the program will pay for their extended stay in a nursing home. You must check your state’s Medicaid program to see if your loved one qualifies.
You can log into the American Council on Aging website and have your loved one take a free eligibility test. Additionally, check if the nursing home accepts Medicaid before committing your loved one, as some do not accept Medicaid as a payment option.
This state and federal program provides senior health coverage but covers short-term stays. If your loved one is recovering from an injury, Medicare can cover their nursing home care and pay in full for the first 20 days and partially from day 21 to 100.
When finding the right assisted living community near you, you need to visit several homes in your area. While planning to visit a home, please refrain from calling ahead, rather go unannounced to find them as they usually are. This will give you a clear picture of what to expect when your loved one moves in.
However, in most cases, deciding on the right fit can be challenging, as this is where your loved one will call home during their golden years.
The following tips will help you choose the right assisted living home that will uniquely meet your loved one’s needs.
Understand your loved one’s needs and write them down before visiting the facility. During the tour, you can use your list to check if it meets your expectations. Knowing the type of care your loved one requires will make it easy to decide on the right assisted living home. An assisted living home that ticks most of your boxes will be ideal as it will meet your loved one’s specific needs.
When you tour the facility, check the safety measures in place. Do the doors lock correctly? When in the bathroom, are the grab bars firm? How about the floor? Is it slippery? How about the lighting?
Ask them if they have emergency buttons in the room and if the resident can efficiently operate them.
While touring the home, ensure you stop and have a chat with their staff and residents. You can learn a lot by having a friendly conversation with residents and staff, as this will give you a clue on what to expect when your loved one moves in.
Ask them how they like the facility and what they like or dislike about the home and their caregivers. Ask the staff what they want about their job as this will show you if they are passionate about it. The feedback you get and your home assessment will show you if the house is an ideal fit for your loved one.
When visiting a potential assisted living home, creating a plan beforehand is better. On this list, include what you want to discover about the house. If your loved one is passionate about some hobbies, ask if the home is open to supporting them or their policy regarding senior hobbies and interests.
It’s crucial to check on the assisted home dining experience. Most facilities allow visitors to have a free meal, and you can take advantage of this offer and have a bite.
If your loved one has special dietary needs, you can ask them if they can cater to that. This helps you determine if your loved one can get healthy meals based on their needs.
You can note everything you see, your interaction with other residents, and even the staff. If the residents seem happy, are they enjoying the available amenities? Some homes have amenities that their residents never get to use as they are for aesthetic purposes and to satisfy the senior’s children.
When you write down everything, you can compare several care homes and decide on the one that fits your expectations.
When touring the facility, check on their calendar, and if you find something that catches your interest, participate in it. Additionally, you must check whether their calendar corresponds with your loved one’s schedule.
For instance, they may have an early morning activity, which may be when your loved one likes to sleep in. Find activities that interest your loved one and ensure they occur when they can participate.
Imagine touring a facility you think is an ideal fit and are sure your loved one will fall in love with, only to find its price range is way above what you can afford. This can be frustrating; it’s better to ask about their prices and if the cost covers everything during your tour.
Ensure you ask them about their amenities if you have to pay for extra services, and then compare their prices with other assisted living communities.
There are numerous senior assisted living communities in the U.S., and deciding on the ideal one might be more challenging than expected. The process can be overwhelming and daunting, but it shouldn’t be so.
Here are some tips to help you research and develop a care facility that will suit your loved one’s needs. They include:
The best place to start your search is online. You can visit the senior assisted living website and check what they offer. When doing your online research, check the following:
Since moving into an assisted living facility is a massive step in your loved one’s life, you must gather recommendations from family, friends, and community organizations. They are the people you trust, and their opinion matters.
You know how your family and friends will react to such a move, and seeking their opinion will help everyone feel involved. Ask for recommendations from friends and family members with relatives in assisted living homes and check how it has turned out for them.
Speak with your loved one’s healthcare professionals and geriatric care managers. Ask them about a senior assisted living facility that they have recommended to other patients and are sure it turned out well for the patient. Such success stories will ease nervousness and make the transition more accessible for the parties involved.
A healthcare provider is better positioned to know and judge a senior assisted living home’s preparedness if your loved one requires specialized care or has a medical emergency.
The following are the most common services offered by assisted living facilities. Keep in mind that this can vary from one to another.
When your loved one moves into an assisted living home, they will enjoy personal care assistance with services like:
Most assisted living places offer meal preparation and dietary support and may include your loved one’s unique nutritional needs. These dietary programs aim to optimize residents’ well-being by ensuring they eat wholesome and nutritious meals.
Some of the services that your loved one will enjoy include:
Senior assisted living homes offer enriching community activities and programs that directly affect a resident’s overall well-being. When an older adult engages in regular physical exercise, they help manage and prevent various age-related medical conditions.
Additionally, exercising strengthens muscles, improves balance, and helps minimize falls among seniors. Some of the exercise and fitness classes a senior can take part in assisted living homes include:
Seniors can take part in recreational and social activities, which go a long way in enriching their lives. Assisted living homes create opportunities for old interaction, fostering a vibrant social life.
Life can be dull without fun activities that add spice. But with an active social life, your loved one will enjoy their golden years and make new friends simultaneously.
Seniors living in assisted living homes can participate in cultural events and outings, making their lives better and more fulfilling. Some of the cultural events a senior can take part in include:
Moving into an assisted living care home is a big step for your aging loved one. It would be best if you prepared well before taking this step, and one way of doing this is by evaluating your financial situation.
You must sit down as a family and discuss how you will cover senior care expenses. This can be a challenging discussion, especially if you have a fixed source of income and have yet to plan for assisted living care expenses.
As a family, you need to understand the cost of assisted living care and its effects. The following factors will affect the cost of senior for your loved one:
Once you have decided on a care facility for your loved one, the next step is assessing your financial situation and planning how to raise funds to cover the care. Ask your loved one if they are in a position to cover the costs.
If your aging loved one doesn’t have insurance coverage or can’t raise the funds, you need to chip in as a family and raise the funds.
Several state and federal programs support senior care. They include
Here are two easy ways to do so.
On this site, a senior will find relevant information on local, federal, and state programs. It’s essential to answer the questionnaire correctly and accurately, as it will help generate a list of available government services near you.
The National Council on Aging runs this site, which deals explicitly with seniors. Answer the questionnaire accurately and correctly to ensure the site can generate relevant information regarding your aging loved one.
These organizations provide seniors with resources and support, enabling them to lead happy and quality lives. They include:
This association is an excellent resource on Alzheimer’s disease, and you can find support groups near you and all of Alzheimer’s research updates.
This agency will help answer any age-related questions. If they can’t help you, they know where to direct you.
This Institute’s website provides helpful information on senior health, and healthy eating habits, and even allows doctor-patient communications.
This organization advocates for older adults. They have a website that focuses on senior-related articles.
National Alliance for Caregiving
This organization provides excellent resources on caregiving, especially issues dealing with and challenges facing family caregivers. The website aims to keep seniors healthy and happy by giving formative resources.
This organization helps in senior transportation and feeding programs. Additionally, older adults can access the following benefits:
Recreation Departments and Local Parks
You can find senior-friendly programs at your local park. These programs aim to help seniors exercise and involve them in social activities.
Additionally, seniors can turn to other charities and resources when they need emergency financial aid. These resources are:
American Retirement Association
If your aging loved one wants to find something to do, this is the place to search for senior jobs. Retirement Jobs helps match seniors with companies looking for expertise and skilled employees.
American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA)
You can find a complete database here on senior living options in the United States.
This nonprofit organization helps feed seniors in need in the United States.
Caring for your aging loved one is noble but challenging, especially if you have to juggle your family and job. You want what’s best for your family, achieve your career goals, and at the same time, ensure your aging loved one is safe, healthy, and comfortable. Maintaining this balance can be an uphill task. However, your loved one can move into an assisted living home.
Assisted living homes ensure seniors are safe, healthy, and comfortable. When your loved one moves into an assisted living home, they will enjoy a fulfilling life, with ample time to pursue their dreams and interests. At the same time, assisted living homes create a conducive environment for social interactions, ensuring your loved one isn’t lonely.
Amy’s Eden premier assisted living homes in Carson City, Reno, and the surrounding areas might just be what your loved one needs to thrive in their golden years.
Our homes are limited to 2-3 residents per home ensuring personalized support. If you’re looking forward to making a move, or want to learn more about our services, do not hesitate to contact us. We are excited to give your loved one a place they can call home.
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