How to Find a Great Senior Living Community for Your Loved Ones
Past a certain age, day-to-day activities become quite challenging for our senior loved ones. When family schedules and periodic home check-ups don’t suffice to take care of our senior folk, then a senior living community is their best bet.
These senior communities have the facilities and human resources to guarantee a comfortable stay for our aging loved ones. There are also tons of fun-filled activities they can engage in to keep them occupied during their stay.
A senior living community shouldn’t just be somewhere you dump a senior loved one. It should be a wholesome place that nurtures their health and keeps them happy.
With the many options out there, it can be difficult to settle on a single living community for your aging folk. In this piece, we’ll guide you on how to find the perfect senior living community to make sure your old loved ones get the love, care, and attention they deserve.
What Is a Senior Living Community?
There’s a lot of confusion surrounding senior living communities and independent living communities or senior housing. While some argue these terms can be interchangeable, others claim these terms are distinctly different.
“Senior living community” is a collective term for facilities, housing, and senior citizen care. You can term this community as an institution in itself with different departments. These departments conjointly facilitate the ultimate living of senior citizens with all the necessary assistance they may need.
Benefits of a Senior Living Community
If you’re having second thoughts about settling your elderly folks in a senior community, here are a couple of reasons why it’s always a good idea:
They Can Make New Friends
When you’re old, it’s even more difficult to make new friends. With living communities, you get to interact with people with similar interests, and just like that, you have new friends.
All Home Maintenance and Yard Work Are Taken Care Of
You never have to worry about cleaning the yard or trimming the hedges. In such a community, the staff ensures the environment is in pristine condition for you guys. With that taken care of, you can really focus on hobbies and stuff you enjoy doing.
You Can Closely Monitor Their Health
Medics can keep close watch of your health and act in case anything unusual happens. Thus, you can enjoy a healthy stay without worrying every second that something might go wrong.
How to Find the Perfect Senior Living Community
With the myriads of options out there, it can be hard to find the ideal living community for your loved ones. A bit of research is often helpful, but most times, it’s not enough to guide you in making the right decision.
About one million Americans currently reside in some type of senior living community. A number that statisticians expect to double by the end of the century. If you’re looking for a senior living community for your old folks, here’s how you go about the process:-
First Have the Location on Lock
The assumption is that you’d want your senior as close to you as possible. The location should be an important factor in determining the choice of the senior community you select, but ultimately you want a community that they receive the best care and quality of life. After all, your loved will be the one living there everyday, while family members may visit less often.
In some places, the laws limit or dictate the operation of some facilities. In some states, some laws may cap how much medical assistance a senior facility can offer your loved one.
In other states, these assisted facilities are more of a community than a medical model. If your loved one needs a lot of medical attention, then you might want to consider somewhere else. Also, if possible, find a facility that is within a reasonable distance of loved ones, without compromising the resident’s quality of life.
The Cost
You can’t put a price on wholesome care for your loved one, but some prices are just outrageous. Everyone comes from different backgrounds, so there isn’t any right price for every family.
When it comes to price, what you should consider is if the services are what your money is worth. A couple of senior communities may have special concierge services or other exquisite amenities that may warrant a higher price tag.
It’s not a bad thing to splurge on your senior loved ones; after all, it may be the last moments you actually get to spend a lot on them. Some benefits and long term insurances may step in to help with the payment or you can review the other payment options. Also, some communities offer an all-inclusive set of services to keep the guesswork out of monthly billing.
Services Offered
You can’t overlook the services the facility offers when settling for a living community. A lot of these facilities offer dining services, assisted living services, and medical management. These are the general services offered by most senior living communities.
However, there are a couple of senior communities that offer exquisite services. Think along the lines of comprehensive care plans and concierge services, just to name a few.
Of course, for these extra perks, at some places you may have to be willing to pay extra. However, it will all be worth it once you see that huge smile on grandma’s or grandpa’s faces.
If you do your homework, you may find communities that offer these services at a fair price.
Size of the Community
When it comes to senior communities, big isn’t always necessarily better. What should be your primary concern is the staff to resident ratio. That said, a huge community allows for greater freedom of residents.
So you have to find a community large enough not to feel cooped up but with enough staff to accommodate all residents in the community adequately.
Check for Proper Licensing and Permits
Lastly, never forget to inquire about the establishment’s licenses and permits before settling in. There are a lot of sham communities operating without proper licensing. You should completely abstain from any community without valid licenses.
You could be putting your senior loved one’s life at risk, or you may not get the services you pay for. So don’t be shy about asking for the establishment’s licenses.
If you’re looking for a licensed, exquisite senior living community that will cater to your loved one’s every need and provide an awesome array of services, then contact us today.