Now Is the Time to Discuss Senior Assisted Living Options with Parents

Do you have an aging parent that needs care, feels isolated, or can’t manage basic daily tasks? There are facilities that offer the required care in special residences whereas there are others with similar needs. You may consider senior living communities or assisted living facilities that can accommodate your loved one.

A senior living community is more for independent adults who also want to be part of a community. An assisted living facility provides extra care for those who require it. Both provide services such as laundry, housekeeping, transport, and activities. Do assisted living facilities provide meals? Yes, nutritious meals are provided every day.

You should know the difference between assisted living vs supportive living. Both offer similar services, but supportive living has an element of financial assistance provided. If you’re looking at moving your parents into a facility, search for an ‘assisted living open house’ so you can see when the facilities near you have open house days. You can tour, check out the facilities and services, and meet the staff and residents on these days. Assisted living facilities are not all the same, therefore it’s essential to learn about each facility’s assisted living philosophy.

The Italian sandwich was a little spicier than you expected, and it was definitely too spicy for your 85 year old father. You did not, however, realize at the time that when you were ordering for yourself you were also ordering for your dad. The first time that he said that said he would have what you were having you did not really thing anything or it, but when it came time to listing the dressings and vegetables that you wanted on your sandwich you noticed that your dad again said that he would just have the same.
You did a quick double take as your dad explained that he would go get the water for the two of you, and just in time you told the sandwich making teenager that she could leave the pickles off your dad’s sandwich. This place only had dill pickles and that was the one kind of pickle that your dad did not like.
As you paused and waited for the sandwich making to be complete, you flashed back to a time nearly two decades ago when you realized that every time you went out to eat with your grandmother you needed to be especially careful about what you ordered, because rather than navigate a difficult and extensive menu your grandmother would just ask for whatever you had ordered. Now that your father appears to be transitioning into the same method, you realize that in spite of his energy level and good health, he, too, is getting older.
Are You Facing Decisions about How to Discuss Assisted Living Homes with Your Parents or Grandparents
It can sometimes be difficult to notice the aging processing your own parents if you see them on a regular basis. Between their efforts to disguise their limitations and your need for ignoring the fact that they are getting older, in fact, you can actually miss some of the initial indicators. When, however, you finally realize that something needs to be addressed you may have passed the point of being able to have a comfortable conversation about topics like moving into assisted living homes or other types of skilled nursing facilities.
Senior living facilities have changed a lot in the last 40 years. With nursing care homes and other options residents can easily transition through different levels of care. From assisted living homes with apartments that allow resident to basically live on their own to the skilled care locations where 24 hour nursing is available, it is important to make sure that you understand the care facility that you are selecting. Consider some of these other facts about assisted living homes and other elder care centers:

• 42% of nursing home patients suffer from some form of dimentia,
• Azheimer’s disease is a common reason elders are admitted into a nursing home. Many of these individuals require 24 hour supervision from the day they are admitted.
• There are approximately 16,100 nursing homes in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
• A nursing home provides 24 hour healthcare for the patients who need it. Typically the elderly, terminally ill, and disabled are the patients who seek the assistance of a nursing home.
• The average occupancy rate for nursing homes in America is 86%.
• The nursing home industry is expected to grow in the next decade as many of the Baby Boomers turn 65.
• There are roughly 1.5 million nursing home residents in the U.S., according to the CDC.
• 835 days is the average number of days a resident is admitted into a nursing home.
• Anyone that requires 24 hour care, not just elderly patients, can benefit anyone from the care provided in a nursing home.
• 26% of nursing home facilities consider themselves non-profit organizations.
• Women are three times as likely to reside in a nursing home at some point in their life than men are.
• 4.5% of all U.S. citizens 65 and older resided in a nursing home in the year 2000.
• Sometimes Medicare will cover nursing home costs under certain requirements, but nursing home costs vary.
• Researching a high quality facility will ease the anxiety that both parties involved feel when they are in the emotionally stressful situation of admitting a loved one to a nursing home.