Posted on Thursday, February 26, 2015

Don’t Move In Without Them: 5 Things to Look for When Choosing a Room in Assisted Living

How do you start narrowing down your choices when it comes to the actual room for your mom, dad, or other aging loved one at assisted living?
When it came time to move my dad, we discovered that five things are essential in making that decision:

Size for your budget. Rooms in assisted living come in all shapes and sizes, from apartment-like layouts with a kitchenette and a living room to simple bedroom and bathroom combinations. Look closely at your budget before committing to a large, spacious room and evaluate how much “living” your loved one will do in that room. For example, if he or she is outgoing, much of that living will be done in the social areas of the facility, so they may not need a large private room. If however, he or she treasures their alone time, having more space may be worth the price.
Room for essential personal items. Your loved one can’t take everything from their previous home with them, but make sure there’s room enough for a few essential items. In my dad’s case, it was his desk. While it was a tight squeeze, having this beloved reminder of his life as a pastor made all the difference to him.
Bathroom that works for your loved one. Can he or she maneuver easily and safely around the space? Is everything reachable given his or her mobility and range of motion? Remember that you can add shower chairs and elevated toilet seats to make the bathroom more accessible.
Easy-to-reach temperature controls. Having control of your room’s temperature is essential. Can your loved one easily adjust the thermostat?
Near to (or far from) the nurse’s station. Consider how far away or how close your loved one wants to be to the nurse’s station. He or she may want the comfort of being within calling distance of the aides, but, on the other hand, the constant noise may be too disruptive, especially at night.

Looking at these factors, I know that every senior will have a different answer. But taking them into consideration will save you time, money, and grief later on.

We hope we’ve helped you SPIN YOUR HEALTHCARE YOUR WAY!

For more information, please check out HealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Choosing an Assisted Living Facility”. It is a practical guide to making the right decisions for seniors when living independently is no longer an option.

Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2015

3 Key Questions To Ask Your Assisted Living About Mealtime

Location, cost, staff, and medical policies are among the “big” deciding factors in choosing an assisted living facility. However, there a plenty of “small” things that in reality may be the most important to your loved one; like where and what they will eat while living in an assisted living facility. Meals are a prominent feature of any facility tour; however, you might underestimate how important they are to your loved one’s comfort and well being. In this video, Lori-Ann gives you the key questions you should ask any assisted living facility regarding mealtime and the dining room.

We hope we have helped you SPIN YOUR HEALTHCARE YOUR WAY!

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How do you make the right decision about moving yourself or a loved one into an Assisted Living Facility without being overwhelmed? How do you even begin talking about it? HealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Choosing an Assisted Living Facility” ebook guide gives you all of the practical advice you need to make the right choice.

Posted on Monday, February 23, 2015

The Most Important Room in Assisted Living

When you’re considering moving into an assisted living facility, you might think the most important room is your bedroom. This is not always true. Often, the most important room is the dining room.

Mealtime is the time when you meet other people and have a sense of community in the facility. Since there are 3 meals a day, where you sit and what you eat significantly impacts your everyday life. If you enjoy the meals, you will be more likely to easily settle into assisted living.

Before you move in, you want to:

Sample the food so you know what choices you will have
Have several meals at the assisted living home – try breakfast and then come back for dinner
Ask whether all the residents eat the same thing or you can order what you want
Ask whether you are assigned a table or you can sit at a different table anytime you want
Ask if you can have the meal brought to your room; and
If you need assistance getting to and from the dining room, ask how you get assistance – is there a long wait

These may seem like simple questions but they can be key factors as to whether you like the assisted living facility or not. My Dad lived in several different assisted living homes. Since he lived independently for 88 years, eating at a dining room table took time to get used to. Since he was in a wheelchair, he often was brought to the table very early and had to wait for other residents before he could eat. This was very frustrating for him. If he had people at his table he liked, he looked forward to the meal. However, if he had residents who had a lot of memory or behavior issues, he wanted to stay in his room.

Communication with the staff is the “key.”

For more information about what my Dad and I learned, see HealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Choosing an Assisted Living Facility.

I hope this post helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!