Questions to Ask When Choosing a Memory Care Assisted Living

Assisted Living Facility

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, every 67 seconds someone in the US is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and there are around 5 million Americans living with this harmful disease.

When you have a loved one diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer it becomes stressful for you too. It can be really hard to deal with it alone. Sometimes it’s necessary to look for an assisted living community that can help you as you care for your loved one. Below are few questions to ask that can help when selecting a memory care assisted living facility:

·         What Kind Of Services Do You Provide?

Generally, memory care communities offer access to medical care, nutritious meals, 24 hour staffing, security features, laundry and housekeeping, fun activities, social opportunities and transportation. Few of the services might be included in the standard monthly rate while other services may be extra.

• Do You Provide Personalized Care And Programming?

Giving Care To An Old Woman

A great memory care community would provide services customized to the particular requirements and capabilities of the residents. In order to ascertain the level of care required by your loved one, the representatives would want to know about their degree of mobility, medical conditions or any type of help required in daily activities. Make sure to also ask what the community’s memory care philosophy is and how that philosophy informs activities and programming.

·         What Approach Is Followed In Clinical Care And Staff Training?

It is important to understand the memory care community’s model and how well the staff professionals are trained. What kind of training is provided? Does the community adhere to a wider scope of training or is there any additional training required on a regular basis? Is there a nurse present in the community 24 hours a day?

·         How Would You Keep Us Updated?

On the well being of your loved one, it's important to ask the community how often they send out updates on the residents. Find out about the mode of communication, for instance will it be via phone call or text message. Ask them beforehand if visitors need to be registered with the community. Make sure you understand the company’s policies to insure your loved one gets the best treatment possible.

Personal preferences and individual choice are the most important factors. Find the right memory care community that offers personalized programs while giving the safety and stability required for residents to have as much independence as they can.

How To Choose an Assisting Living Facility?

Do you know what makes assisted living facility so special? They offer some magnificent services that usually include help with day to day activities, such as dressing, bathing, grooming and the like.

Assisted living can provide a wonderful living environment for the aging population. Meals are often served  in a cafeteria style atmosphere. Also, they offer essential health care and general help such as reminders to take medication. Whereas seniors in nursing homes are being given assistance in daily chores and are also monitored by round the clock nursing staff.

If your loved one is strong-minded to preserve their independence and they have only minor issues with aging then assisted living facility might be a great option. But, if your elderly loved one has crucial medical problems which need regular monitoring or if the elderly has emotional as well as mental issues that require stable attention, a reputed nursing facility could be a great fit.

If you have made up your mind in going with an assisted living facility, here are important things to consider:

Start Slow:

Start with hiring help for critical chores, such as running errands or mowing the lawn. With time, as the need arises, you can pursue an assisted living facility.

Start a Conversation:

Do interact with your loved one concerning what the future might hold in coming days. Making the right decision may not occur overnight, so be patient with them as they sort out their emotions. Discuss in detail their medical issues and what are the kind of options they have for long-term care.

Offer Choices:

When staying at home does not sound sensible for you; sit down to talk concerning nursing homes and assisted living centers. Enable them to make many of the decisions on their own. Also, make an effort to bring their doctor into the conversation and ask for their opinions too.

Show Them You Care:

When your senior loved one has made a decision to live in an assisted living center, consider talking to them each day and monitoring their day-to-day lifestyle. Please pay attention to their care, become a supporter for them and follow up on any complaints that may arise in future. Most importantly, remind them how much you care about them and show them that their comfort and health is your primary concern.

Make Legal Preparations:

Long term care choices must be made long before the move takes place, considering the legal roadblocks that might delay the elder care choices. Talk to your loved one about power of attorney, finances and other legal factors.

Choosing between a skilled nursing facility and an assisted living center can be very daunting; but with open lines of communication that stony road can be made much smoother. Hence, it’s time to make a good healthy choice that secures your future for a longer period of time. Indulge in an exciting range of activities and wellness programs and pave way for a more refreshing and peaceful life. If it sounds superb for you then go ahead and take assistive care.

6 Valentine’s Day Party Games for Senior Residents

Instead of taking our elders for granted, it'd be great if we can do something special for them on the Valentine’s Day. When our seniors were young, they also had some love stories so we can make an effort to reminisce those wonderful times.

Romance and being in love is meant for people of all ages. We see couples hand in hand in restaurants, theatres and walking the streets but sometimes behave oddly when an old couple shows PDA (Public Display Affection). This shows we need to adopt a more liberal view when it comes to showing affection and love. Love is meant for anyone and that’s all matters. Rather than trying to avoid it, join senior couples this Valentine's Day and try playing one of these party games with them:

Newlywed Game: 

In order to play this game, you may consider recruiting married couples. Further, you may ask questions each of the spouses separately such as: ‘what was the menu of the first meal your wife cooked especially for you’ or ‘when did you last gave your wife flowers’. These are just a few ideas, many more you can Google.

Valentine Pictionary: 

Encourage all the participants to draw phrases related to Valentine’s Day for the team members to make a guess like: love letter, love birds, candlelight dinner and many more phrases you can make.

Name that LOVE Song: 

Play some music from trending love songs for senior residents to guess the song titles. Also, you can give prizes to the ones who guess the songs right. This will create competitive spirit among all the participants so that everybody stays in jubilant mood.

Word Games: 

Make a Web search for printable word games like: Valentine’s Mad libs or crossword puzzles. This is a really great way to get all the participants involved.

Candy Bingo: 

Using candy like sweethearts as the bingo markers or Hershey’s Kisses, you can play a fun round of Valentine Bingo. Plus, you may even give out Valentine's candies for prizes. Isn’t it a great idea?

Valentine Charades: 

Playing a Valentine Charades makes an assisted living center environment even livelier. You may invite participants to act out romantic song titles such as: Wind Beneath My Wings, The Way You Look Tonight and many more, ‘especially those which are in trend’.

On Valentine's Day. pay due respect to the old couples and engage them in fun love-centric activities through these above mentioned games. Brainstorm the ideas with the owner of an assisted living center to make their V-Day memorable. You will be happy to see the smiles and laughter on your elderly loved ones.