If your senior parent recognizes that he or she needs more help than you can provide, your parent might willingly agree to start looking for an assisted living facility to move to. This is a courageous and wise decision for your parent to make, and it will offer a lot of benefits for him or her. Here are some tips designed to help you and your parent choose the right facility.
Determine Your Parent's Top Needs
Before you even begin looking at assisted living facilities, you should sit down with your parent and write a list of what your parent's top needs are. Making a list like this offers a lot of benefits, but the main one is that you can use it to compare different facilities. As you compare facilities, you can determine which facility offers the most services your parent really needs.
Here are some examples of needs seniors often have:
- Companionship - A lot of seniors feel lonely because they live alone. Companionship is a huge benefit offered at most senior living communities, and having companions reduces the loneliness seniors feel.
- Assistance with daily tasks - One of the top needs many seniors have is assistance completing normal tasks, such as bathing or getting dressed.
- Help with wounds, illnesses, or medication - Many seniors also need help monitoring their illnesses, diseases, or wounds, and a lot of people in this age group need help taking their medications.
These are basic needs seniors often have, but you could include things on your list that your parent really desires. For example, does your parent love being outside and enjoying nature? If so, you should include this on your list.
Evaluate the Programs, Services, and Activities Offered
A second step you should take is evaluating the programs, services, and activities a facility offers to the residents. When your parent moves to an assisted living facility, you should make sure your parent will have things to do that he or she enjoys.
To find this out, you can contact an assisted living center and ask questions about this. Many of these facilities offer activities every single day for the residents to take part in. This may include some of the following activities
:
- Special music or entertainment - Getting to spend time seeing and listening to guests perform songs, music, or other forms of entertainment is a common activity you will find at senior living communities.
- Games and crafts - Games often include bingo, puzzles, card games, and board games, and your parent might really enjoy doing these things with other residents. A lot of facilities also offer craft time too, which is fun for those who enjoy making things.
- Outings - One great thing about many facilities is that they offer outings to the residents. This means your parent will not be stuck at home all the time. Instead, he or she can visit places with other people.
These are a few of the activities your parent might want to find in a facility.
Visit the Facility and Ask Questions
After you create a list and determine what activities your parent wants most, you should visit the facilities of your choice. Visiting them is the best way to see and experience all that a facility offers, and this will help your parent find the right place to move to.
Choosing an assisted living facility is a huge decision for your parent, and this is one of the reasons you should help your parent with this choice. Fountains Senior Care Inc. is a facility located in Reno, NV and we offer so many great features that seniors really enjoy and need.