Assisted Living After Retirement: Is It For Your Loved Ones?

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For quality senior care, assisted living after retirement are an option for families who don’t have the training, equipment, or time to adequately provide care.

What Is Assisted Living?

Assisted living after retirement is among the options to get quality senior care. An assisted living facility is different from a skilled nursing care facility (nursing home) because they provide limited medical assistance while allowing patients to live in a semi-independent setting and otherwise can care for themselves. Assisted living communities to provide a more independent lifestyle and considerable degree of freedom for their residents. Assisted living facilities provide a more vibrant social environment than nursing homes. Assisted living facilities may have staff which is assigned to ensure there are social gatherings such as guest musicians, church services or ice cream.

Nursing homes also known as long term care facilities offer skilled nursing services 24/7 for patients who cannot care for themselves. While not to the extent as assisted living facilities, nursing homes also provide some social activities where residents are encouraged to participate in.

The Benefits of Assisted Living

While some elderly relatives might prefer staying with a family caregiver, assisted living facilities have distinct benefits for their tenants. Here are the advantages of assisted living residences to consider:

• Security: Safety and security are paramount at any age. Many seniorsw do not want to leave the independence of their home. Seniors who remain at home generally have access to community services or family who remove home hazards such as area rugs or install shower grab bars to prevent falls, senior friendly door locks or a security system for safety.  In an assisted living facility, extensive protection systems and guards are in place to offer their tenants security. The presence of caregivers and adjacent staff members ensures that their needs are met consistently and regularly.
• Community: Although moving into an assisted living residence may mean the loss of relationships tied to the last place of residence, it also means creating new ones. A significant appeal of assisted living is establishing a community where senior citizens can spend their days socializing with their fellow residents and staff. There is also the possibility of interacting with the younger generation through volunteer programs the community administration might host. In an assisted living facility, a resident is given the most opportunities to have scheduled activities and like-minded seniors there is much to engage and explore.
• Accessibility: Seniors who remain in their homes, and still drive, will venture out for errands such as groceries or medical appointments.  Some may visit other relatives.  There are many dangers if the elder driver is hearing or visually impaired or has difficulty ambulating. This is not only dangerous to the senior, it is also dangerous to anyone else who may be on the road. Assisted living facilities often provide services so residents are able attend to their medical appointments.  They generally have a van which will drive a group of residents to the grocery store on a planned day. Friends and family must come to the facility for visits.  These facilities will make arrangements for residents to leave the facility for a day or two to spend time with family or take a short vacation.  
• Comfort: Today there are many communities where homeowners no longer are responsible for such activities as caring for a yard or snow removal or damage from a storm.  For the senior who does not live in such a community, there are many service entities available to provide such maintenance.  If a senior is unable to adequately ensure personal needs such as house-cleaning, cooking or basic in-home duties, then the risk of injury and accident is still relatively high. But inside an assisted living community, professionals are there to do these tasks for them, eliminating the need for a medley of risky actions on the part of the senior. This is one of the best features of assisted living after retirement.

Qualities to Consider in an Assisted Living Facility

Because of the pandemic, there has been an increasing demand for better quality living for senior citizens. Here are some aspects that should be considered in an assisted living community must have the best peace of mind: 

• Environment: A good facility should invoke a comfortable atmosphere and a sense of home for its residents. In addition to developing a pleasant ambiance, common areas such as gyms, dining halls, libraries, etc., should be reasonably accessible and regularly sanitized.
• Staff: A good facility should be adequate staffed with people who will go above and beyond for its residents. In addition, caregivers should be well-trained to deal with any encounter and to provide personalized care and medical assistance.
• Location: A good facility should be easy for family and friends to visit. If the facility is in a remote or rural area, services should be provided to ensure residents have access to necessary services.