When is the right time to move into an assisted living community?
It is definitely a difficult decision as there will be layers and tears. The initial layer is just the understanding of the difficulty making that moving, especially for the elderly who’s lived in their home most likely from the time they started a family. To add, imagine having to move when you’re not at your best (health-wise).
Many families/seniors wait until a traumatic situation happens, causing the seniors to no longer live safely at home. This situation puts the family in crisis mode, looking for a place before the hospital or nursing facility discharges their elderly loved one and decisions are being made based on urgency (have to vs wanting to).
Many emotions including guilt set in on the family and all the senior want to do is go home to their own comfortable bed. Can you imagine how much more traumatic this could be for the senior to have to move to an unfamiliar place while trying to recover?
This situation at times, causes it to look like assisted living is the enemy where the senior is fighting to go home.
So my tip is to start having open conversations as early as possible and help them feel at ease. Even if it is truly early to make the transition, it would not hurt to take tours of senior living communities and start doing your homework before crisis strikes.
Also, take note of things when it comes to the Activities of Daily Living (ADL).
- Is walking up and down the stairs becoming more difficult?
- Is cooking becoming more difficult that it’s caused some weight gain or loss?
- Is the house becoming overwhelming to maintain?
- Is showering feeling a bit more hazardous causing fear?
- Is getting out of the house becoming difficult to participate in activities/gatherings?
- Are medications truly being taken at its appropriate time?
- etc…
Recognizing this could help solidify your decision.
At Senior Generation, we are here to be of guidance. Give us a call for a consultation at NO COST.
