Knowing if assisted living is a good option for you

Knowing if Assisted Living is a good option for you

Some people are planners – they plan ahead, wanting to make decisions early about growing older; other people tend to wait until a move is necessary or even sometimes when the move is overdue.  If a senior has made the choice to downsize to a lower-maintenance style of living, such as a condominium or retirement apartment, it’s quite possible that an additional move may not even be necessary.

• Let’s say you’re living in a condominium and need some assistance with chores or activities, you may want to consider arranging for in-home care services.
• If you’re living in a retirement apartment, the community may offer assisted living and supportive services, allowing residents to age in place.
• Even within retirement communities, it is an option to arrange for in-home care services.

If an older adult is living in the family home, daily activities and home maintenance may become overwhelming.  At some point, it’s likely that support services in the home may be needed, or a move to an easier-to-manage space within assisted living may become the best match.

Assisted living communities offer supportive services in an independent-style living arrangement.  Residents have their own apartments, affording the level of privacy to which most of us are accustomed.  Even individuals who aren’t that outgoing and social can benefit from living within an assisted living community.  Many activities don’t require people to be highly participatory; such as picking up the mail or chatting with someone in the dining room.  These could be enough social interaction to help stimulate a person’s interest in keeping in touch with the rest of the world.  Assisted living communities typically offer numerous planned activities and arrange special events to encourage a sense of community among residents, family members and staff.

The majority of people find assisted living really enjoyable.  Assisted living is likely a good option if:

• As a couple, one or both of you needs more care than you can offer each other on your own
• As a couple, one or both of you is no longer able to maintain the home, to complete chores such as grocery shopping, or if driving is becoming a concern for you
• You aren’t eating properly, drinking enough water or getting enough exercise
• As an individual, you’re lonely or fearful; assisted living offers a good solution to connecting with people

There are some people for whom assisted living may not be a good fit.  The current industry standard is that a person living within an assisted living community will require approximately 1.5 to 2.0 hours of personal care or services from a staff member per day.  Some assisted living communities’ staff their buildings at a higher ratio, and therefore a person who has random and unforeseen needs would not do well in this type of setting.  Other assisted living communities have staff based on resident need.  In such a case it is feasible for a person to receive much more than two hours of personal assistance a day; these services will come at an additional cost.

Here are personality types or specific care issues that may not work well within an assisted living community:

• Highly private and reclusive people: Even though they have their own, private apartment where they can still maintain their privacy, if a person feels highly uncomfortable around groups of 20 or more people (to the point that they aren’t able to physically cope) assisted living may not be the best answer.  Arranging for in-home care within their current residence or a move to a smaller setting may be a better match.
• Visually challenged or sight-impaired: People who can’t see well or can’t see at all may be able to do just fine in assisted living.  The appropriateness of assisted living depends upon how independent a person can be when they have limited sight.  Assisted living is not one-on-one care; a person must be able to be self-sufficient for the majority of each day.
• Some assisted living communities may offer specialty care for people with memory loss; other providers may not.  Memory loss and dementia are complex issues requiring much more extensive information gathering and care on the part of the assisted living community.  Fifty percent of individuals age 80 or older have some type of memory loss.  Having memory loss does not automatically preclude a person from moving to or remaining within an assisted living community.
• A person prone to falling or with mobility issues: Regardless of where a person lives, the risk for taking a fall will always exist.  Balancing out the individual’s need for exercise with the possible risk of falling is critical.  Having access to an emergency response pendant or in-house monitoring and a safety system are of help to people who are not steady on their feet, but these are not offered by all assisted living communities.
• Residents with random and unpredictable needs: For these individuals, assisted living may be a questionable option.  In most communities, caregivers are assigned to care for a certain number of older adults.  Within this caregiver’s day, they have blocked out time to help specific residents with personal grooming, managing their day and supporting residents in planned and specific ways.  For this reason, a person who has random needs may not have their needs adequately met, as the caregiver would be occupied helping other residents.  If a person has care needs which can be scheduled and specific, assisted living is a tremendous option.  For instance, if a person needs help with a bath or shower every other day at 8AM, this is a scheduled and predictable event and can be easily managed by staff within assisted living; whereas, if a resident has mobility issues and needs help getting in and out of a chair, this individual may not do well having to wait for a caregiver to come and assist with making a bathroom visit at a specific time of day.

Each assisted living community is staffed in a different way. Some communities use standard staffing models such as:

• 1 caregiver per 15 residents during the typical awake hours
• 1 caregiver per 40 residents during sleeping times
• Other communities staff based on specific resident needs.

For instance, one caregiver may be assigned to 14 residents and another caregiver may be assigned to only 10.

Discussing your specific needs is an important part of determining if assisted living is a good short-term and long-term match for you.