The assisted living community you choose may depend primarily upon the independence level of your loved one. If your loved one simply wants to live in a community with other people their age, they may not need the same range of services as someone who has been diagnosed with dementia, or who has medical issues. Typically, the first thing to consider is the level of care your loved one needs.
Determine the Level of Care
While many assisted living communities offer a range of care levels and services, there are some that cater specifically to people who have advanced medical needs. If your loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, dementia, stroke, or has serious medical issues, you will need to find an assisted living community that offers memory care, assistance with daily living, meal preparation, hygiene, grooming, dressing, continence care, and medication management. If your loved one has no medical issues and wants to move into an assisted living community to be around people their age with similar interests, you’ll want to choose a community that has a variety of social activities and opportunities for fun. Some communities even offer chaperoned outings to museums, shopping malls, gardens, and restaurants.
Evaluate the Range of Services
Once you have a better sense of the level of care your loved one will need, you should evaluate the range of services offered by the assisted living community. Will your loved one be able to get assistance with grocery shopping, transportation to medical appointments, and laundry services? Will your loved one have opportunities to socialize, such as card games, worship services, book groups, or sewing groups? If possible, include your loved one in these discussions so they don’t feel you are making decisions without them. You will also want to consider if your loved one can have a pet or assistance animal with them in the assisted living community.
Find a Facility That Allows Your Loved One to Age in Place
If there is a chance that your loved one’s level of care will change as they age, you may consider finding an assisted living community that allows your loved one to “age in place.” This means that if your loved one’s health needs change, the facility will be able to accommodate those changes by offering more specialized services. This way, you won’t have to uproot your loved one and incur more costs associated with finding a new facility and moving them there.
Make More Than One In-Person Visit
Once you have narrowed down your choice to a few different assisted living communities, you should make more than one in-person visit to determine which one best suits your needs. If your loved one is able to participate in the decision making, bring them along and listen to their input. One visit alone may not give you the whole picture when making your choice. Try visiting on different days of the week, and find out if you can sit in on any of the activities the facility offers, so you can get a sense of what life will be like there.
At Arizona Homestead, our goal is to “raise the standard of excellence in all aspects of assisted living care.” All of our caregivers are certified in supervisory, personal, and directed care and can provide quality of life management, medication management, safe work practices and memory care. We also provide specialized care for residents diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or stroke. To learn more about how we can help you and your family with assisted care, call us at (520) 245-7881 or contact us online.
