While many seniors like the idea of independent living and aging at home, an assisted living facility can deliver various benefits unavailable to seniors in their homes. However, choosing the right assisted living facility for your loved ones can be a huge commitment.
Here we explore how assisted living facilities can benefit older adults and factors to consider when choosing assisted living options.
What’s Assisted Living?
Assisted living refers to a housing solution for people in need of different medical and personal care services. The living facilities can provide apartments, individual rooms, or shared quarters.
Assisted living facilities offer people a home-like setting and their design encourages residents to live independently. All the services offered are geared toward assisting residents with their daily living.
What do Assisted Living Communities Offer?
Assisted living facilities offer personalized care to older adults in a residential setting. These personal care facilities are great for seniors who require a high level of support for their health and well-being.
The services offered by assisted living communities in Conway, AR, might vary from one facility to the other, but they include:
- Three meals a day
- Housekeeping and laundry
- Medication management
- Personal care including bathing & clothing
- Some medical services
- 24-hour emergency care
- Social and recreational activities
Most assisted living facilities offer professional assistance 24/7 and the residents are encouraged to carry personal items to make the environment feel homey. Many assisted living communities in Conway also assess the residents when they move in, helping them offer individualized service plans that meet their specific needs.
Why Choose Assisted Living Services?
While many American seniors want to live in their homes as long as possible, assisted living might be the next best option for you. Assisted living facilities offer several benefits, including:
1. Safety
Safety is one of the biggest issues about aging at home alone. Senior adults that live in their homes alone are susceptible to various threats and hazards, rating from medication mishaps to burglary and serious falls.
Assisted living facilities create comfortable and secure environments for seniors to live a happy and safe life. These care facilities also feature alarm systems to ensure residents can easily reach the nurses when they need help.
2. Socialization
While many seniors are afraid of being away from their family and friends, assisted living ensures they don’t lose touch with the world. Assisted living facilities allow older adults to forge new relationships with the staff members, volunteers, and fellow residents.
There are plenty of chances for conversation, events, and activities that are perfect to connect. That includes group activities like cooking courses, book reading, card games, and exercise classes.
3. Peace of Mind
Assisted living is care that will always be there. These living arrangements give families peace of mind knowing that their loved ones are getting the assistance they need for a healthier and happy life. Families don’t need to worry about regular home maintenance, missed medication, or other safety risks.
4. Dining with Others
Eating alone can feel lonely, boring, and difficult for aging adults. Assisted living provides a great dining experience for residents while giving nourishing food to improve their health.
Mealtimes for assisted living residents provide balanced nutrition and invite seniors to eat with the company of friends. Some nursing homes even offer apartments with kitchenettes for residents who love cooking.
What to Consider When Looking for Assisted Living Facilities
Choosing an assisted living community for your loved one can feel overwhelming, especially without knowing what to look for. Here’s a checklist for choosing the best assisted living care facility for a family member in Conway, AR.
1. Pay attention to curb appeal and cleanliness
An assisted living facility will be the new home for your senior loved ones. The curb appeal, cleanliness, and design details tell a lot about how the place is maintained. These details also help to assess how the place will enrich your loved one’s mental and physical well-being.
Take note of your first impression while observing the entryways and the community’s outdoor areas. You should also consider these other details when looking for assisted living accommodations for your loved ones:
- Safety features like grab bars, handrails, and zero-threshold showers.
- Cleanliness and upkeep of facility surroundings and common areas.
- Accessibility features like widened doors, stairlifts, elevators, and wheelchair ramps.
- Social areas like lounge spaces, dining room, and event halls.
- Decor details like comfortable furniture, uplifting colors, and personalization opportunities.
2. Know the caregivers
Ultimately, your decision to choose any nursing home will depend on whether you think the team will take good care of your senior loved ones. People are the most vital aspect of senior care.
When possible, check the interactions between the residents and the staff members to assess staff friendliness, patience, and compassion. Ensure you know about the staff’s training, background, and accreditation.
3. Feel out the community’s programming, culture, and amenities
Many families struggle to get an assisted living facility for their senior loved ones as the ideal fit differs from one person to the other. The right senior care facility will depend on your loved one’s personality and hobbies. How the community engages and supports the residents is also a crucial factor.
If your loved ones like cooking, check whether the facility offers a studio apartment with a kitchenette. If they enjoy walking pets, check whether the assisted living facility has shared pets and a refreshing outdoor space for walking.
4. Consider comfort and accommodations
Ask yourself whether your loved one enjoys the privacy of their room or is a social butterfly. If your senior loved one prefers being left alone, a private room will be ideal for you instead of a shared room that encourages interaction.
Try and have a conversation with other residents and staff about the daily routines, comfort, and honest opinions. Other things you’ll want to consider include:
- The type of apartments available – are they shared rooms or private apartments?
- What king of furnishing is available
- Can residents decorate and personalize their apartments?
- Does every apartment include a private bathroom or are there shared bathrooms?
- Does every bathroom and apartment accommodate wheelchairs?
- Are the health care providers for emergency medical services?
- Are laundry services and handling household chores part of the price?
5. Check key cost issues
Assisted living expenses are a major factor when choosing a new home for your loved one. Check whether a community is all-inclusive pricing or tiered pricing according to care levels. Also, ask about contract terms and move-in fees.
Looking for an assisted living facility in Conway AR? StoneBridge Senior Living community is the solution!
StoneBridge Senior Living is a trusted assisted living facility providing exceptional care for seniors in Conway, AR. We have a friendly and experienced team that can take good care of your elderly parents or relatives.
Call 636-477-3280 and make your senior loved ones part of our vibrant community!