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Assisted Living
First Step in Caring For Aging Family Members: Assisted Living Levels
There comes a time in everyone's life when it takes longer to manage activities of daily living. Family members may begin to wonder and worry if Mom or Dad needs extra help, and who can step in to provide some caregiving.
Providing caregiving for an aging family member can be a loving experience for all involved, but caregiving can also be stressful and sometimes impractical.
Many times family members have busy jobs or do not reside in the area and are unable to provide the extra care needed for an aging parent or loved one. But the parent(s) is still fine to live at home or is reluctant to leave familiar surroundings.
A next first step might be to consider Assisted Living tailored to the individual needs.
Assisted Living is also often the most affordable first step in senior care.
When considering what level of care your loved one might need, it is important to take a little bit of time to make an evaluation.
Good questions to ask regarding level of care for your loved one is, what daily activities does your loved one actually need help with?
Assisted Living for a senior who is in need of assistance, takes different forms or levels. Your loved one might simply need help with preparing meals, some personal care assistance or driving to appointments, and light housekeeping around the home or apartment. Assisted living will also help with dressing, bathing and medication management which are all important services.
Residential Care
According to the Administration for Community Living (acl.gov), the aging population is rapidly increasing.
Senior citizens in the 85 and older bracket are expected to more than double from 6.6 million (according to US 2019 census data), to 14.4 million by the year 2040.
This means more elderly citizens than ever are going to require some form of Assisted Living, Residential Care or Memory Care.
When a loved one is ready for a new home with more supervision, but not yet ready for full-time nursing care, a Residential Care facility can be the next step and offer additional support beyond Assisted Living.
Much like Assisted Living, residents in Residential Care receive personal attention and prepared meals. There is staff available in the facility around the clock.
However, Residential Care facilities are usually smaller than Assisted Living facilities.
Residential Care is not to be confused with a Nursing Home, where residents require full-time nursing and medical care and observation.
Residential Care facilities offer a relaxed quiet atmosphere to your loved one. More personalized attention and supervision is generally provided.
In a Residential Care facility, the new resident may participate as much or as little as they wish in organized activities in the home.
Residential Care residents may require additional medical support and help with monitoring medications, and getting to medical appointments.
Personal housekeeping and laundry are provided.
Companionship for the senior is yet another prime ingredient found in Residential Care facilities.
Memory Care
Sometimes our loved ones need more than simple care. Such as dealing with loss of mental function and dementia.
According to the Administration on Aging, more than 6 million Americans are estimated to have Alzheimer's or suffer from debilitating memory issues
A Memory Care facility can provide a safe and life enhancing atmosphere for your loved one.
Memory Care offers the additional help and security which simply cannot be found in a personal home situation. Memory Care staff are specifically trained to provide care for those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's.
Dealing with a loved one suffering from dementia is a next level of care. Oftentimes, just simple tasks and communication have changed significantly for the individual, who may find the confusion of daily tasks difficult to navigate, and emotionally triggering.
Safety is a key issue and 24-hour supervision is a prime ingredient provided in a Memory Care facility.
Trained staff in a Memory Care facility have the patience and skills to properly work with seniors suffering with memory issues.
Yet it is important to recognize these individuals still have significant amount of life to enjoy. The special care provided in a Memory Care facility can enhance the daily lives.
Cutting edge technology and constantly evolving care regimes and healthly living protocols for those with dementia, is a plus for seniors residing in a Memory Care facility. Cognition strengthening activities is another key component of Memory Care.
Meals, personal care and activities are all tailor-made to the resident in a Memory Care facility.
Staff spend a great deal of time with one-on-one care with seniors in Memory Care. This specialized approach means that as health issues progress, situations are instantly recognized and care is adjusted. For example, sometimes patients with dementia slowly begin to lose the ability to perform such simple tasks as bathing and using the toilet. In the caring atmosphere of a Memory Care facility, staff are trained to recognize daily changes and to help the senior with additional needs as time progresses.