Q: What Is The Best Way To Bring Up A Possible Assisted Living Facility Transition
Ms. Drelich: I think it is best to be honest and open from the earliest of conversations. It is sometimes helpful to point out to the parent that this is also for the childs benefit, not just for the older person. For example, saying something like, Dad, I am very concerned about how you are managing. It worries me to see you like this.
Very often older people do not want to be a burden on their family, and in the process, they may even hide things from them. If the family member can openly and caringly stress their concerns, this often makes all the difference.
Start Looking For Care Early
If youve noticed signs that your parent has dementia its a good idea to start looking for potential assisted living and memory care communities early. Its always less stressful to do the searching and visits when there isnt a crisis. This way when the time comes youve already got a great place picked out and can move forward when needed.
Does Your Senior Loved One Need Memory Care
At The Kensington Redondo Beach, we provide an assisted living community and two cozy memory care neighborhoods, Connections and Haven. Each community is designed and specifically tailored for each resident based on their individual needs.
Our staff is knowledgeable, compassionate, and understands how important your senior loved ones well-being and quality of life are to you. This is why it is Our Promise to care for and love your family as we do our own.
If you are interested in learning more about our community, our team, our services, and our dedication to providing the highest level of care, contact us today.
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Your Parent Has Difficulty Staying Focused Or Trouble Speaking
Does your elderly parent lose track of their thoughts mid-sentence or struggles to find words while talking with you on the phone? Trouble speaking or staying focused in an elderly loved one could also be a sign of early onset dementia. When these occurances happen, make sure to document it. That way youll be able to share a full record of your parents symptoms when they see their doctor and when they make the transition to assisted living. At Heart & Home, we encourage you to share every detail of not just your parents medical needs, but ways we can help bring a smile to their face. Our team is dedicated to helping our residents keep their dignity and independence while enjoying a good quality of life. Decorating your loved ones luxury private or shared bedroom at Heart & Home with pictures of loved ones or memories will help with their transition to assisted living, especially if they have memory problems. For more information on ways you can help transition an elderly parent struggling with dementia, give us a call today.
Transitioning Your Loved One With Dementia To Assisted Living
by Unlimited Care Team | Jun 14, 2019 | Assisted Living, Dementia, Helpful Information for Family Members
Assisted living, particularly memory care, can provide crucial attention and medical help that your aging loved one might desperately need. Unfortunately, a senior with dementia might resist the idea of moving to assisted living. Their insistence that they dont need help isnt simple denialbecause of their dementia, they honestly believe nothing is wrong. This misconception can make a successful transition difficult.
Thankfully, you have a few potential solutions to this problem. Helping your loved one transition from home to an assisted living community will still be a difficult process, but with care and patience, you can help them understand that this is truly the best choice. Help your family member receive the help they need in a safe environment with these steps to a successful transition.
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Transition To Assisted Living: Feels Like Home Because It Is Our Home
Making the transition to assisted living can be difficult for both you and your loved one. Many older adults dont want to leave their homes, and getting comfortable in a new environment can stir up some anxiety and stress for everyone involved.
At The Arbors/Ivy, our communities already feel like home. As the third generation, we grew up in our buildings. We listened to our families talk endlessly at the dinner table or in the car about our communities. We started working in them at an early age and learned every job there is, spending time working alongside the staff within each department. We learned very young how important these communities were to the families we served, the families that became part of our family. But we also learned that our residents wanted our communities to truly feel home-like and cozy, warm, and inviting. This feeling comes from so much more than just the physical surroundings, but rather the relationships they create with our staff and the camaraderie they have with new friends.
Here are a few tips for turning our community into your new home:
Applying For An Assisted Living Home
Countless people rely on senior living facilities and nursing homes to keep themselves healthy. This can make it difficult to get your loved one into the place you feel is best for them, and you may need to apply for one a few months in advance.
Luckily, care center staff like the team at Catholic Care Center can help you through the application process and financial planning stages. If the move needs to happen sooner rather than later, we will do everything we can to help move the process along.
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Characteristics Of Alfs And Administrators
The average interview was 26 min . shows characteristics of respondents and ALFs. Thirty-one administrators were executive directors. All were involved in transfer decisions. Average years as an ALF administrator was 6.28 average at the current facility was 4.24. Twelve facilities were freestanding ALFs, 13 were ALFs with MCUs, and 12 were in CCRCs, all of which had MCUs. The average number of beds was 55. Twenty-five ALFs had MCUs, including ALFs with MCUs and CCRCs with MCUs, averaging 20 beds. also shows bed size by facility type: CCRCs had the largest average bed size, and more beds in their MCUs, than did ALFs with MCUs.
The sample had 13 ALFs in the Midlands, 12 in the coastal area or Low Country, and 12 in the western portion or Upstate. The ALF types were fairly evenly distributed among the regions. Twenty-seven ALFs were in metropolitan statistical areas and 10 in more rural areas .
They Are No Longer Safe At Home
The main reason that many families choose to move a parent to assisted living is when the senior is no longer safe. This happens when there simply arent enough resources to guarantee the seniors safety. This is typically caused by memory deficiency and you should use the following list to evaluate their safety.
There are a number of questions you should ask yourself when evaluating your senior loved ones safety. Ask yourself the following questions to gauge if assisted living or memory care is needed.
- Is the senior able to take prescriptions according to directions?
- Are they able to prepare and store food safely?
- Do they leave oven or burners on after cooking?
- Are they eating regularly and not losing or gaining weight?
- Have they fallen recently? Have they fallen repeatedly?
- Is there any physical aggression towards people or pets?
- Do they wander away from home, or get lost?
- Is there a chance that the loved one is being abused?
- Do they drive without a license or against doctors orders?
- Have they been victimized by scams or likely to be?
When you start realizing that your loved one might not be able to safely care for themselves it is time to consider how assisted living might be the very best living condition for them, and for the people caring for them.
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Search For The Perfect Dementia Care Facility
Once aging parents agree to try assisted living, do not disappoint them by showing them an unsuitable environment they will hate from the very first second. Take time to find out all available options and select the very best choice you feel will make your dementia-afflicted parent happy. Remind them that assisted living facilities are nothing like nursing facilities near you they offer many recreational, social and dining opportunities and are more like retirement communities than your typical old-age homes.
Do not just trust the residences advertising. It is essential to schedule tours to multiple assisted living facilities and visit them before the aging individuals will settle in to see first-hand if they are the best choice. Interact with directors, staff, and residents as well to get an accurate picture of what goes on daily. Visit several times before deciding the memory care community where that will provide the best dementia care for your parent.
After confirming that the community will be a great fit, let the senior also visit so that he or she can see the environment where they will be spending a considerable amount of their golden years. Knowing that they are part of the decision-making process helps retirees to be confident with leaving their previous lives behind and starting a new one in their new assisted living homes.
Visit Frequently For Short Intervals
Typically, people with memory loss adjust better to changes if a reassuring, familiar face is near them. You may need to remind them several times that this is their home. Spend time with them in their room and go through some pictures together. Remind them that you love them. If leaving is hard initially, either for you or for them, you may want to have staff distract them and then you can slip out the door. Sometimes, mealtime is a good time to do this.Also, be aware that occasionally people take it out on family members and become very angry with them for making them move. If your visits increase his anger and frustration, it’s okay for you to visit less frequently initially since you seem to trigger those feelings. However, this should not be used as a punishment or a threat. Remember that people with dementia often don’t have control over their emotions and behaviors.
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Always Move On A Good Day
Seniors with dementia usually have good days followed by not-so-good days. While it is not easy to predict if the moving date will turn out to be a good day, it is always a good idea to rearrange your schedule or postpone the move if your loved one is having a particularly bad day.
If rescheduling the move is not possible, you can improve their mood by indulging them in things they enjoy the most. It could be anything, such as watching their favorite movie, enjoying an ice cream they like, or visiting a place that makes them happy.
For a lot of dementia patients, mornings tend to be a lot better than the evenings. If you have noticed a similar pattern with your parents or loved one, consider choosing that time of the day for the move. Moreover, if possible, ask your family members or friends to move the patients belongings to the assisted living facility and arrange their room before they finally arrive at the place. It will help them settle into their new home.
Communicate With the New Caregiving Staff
As dementia progresses, it may become difficult for the residents to communicate with the caregiving staff verbally. Therefore, you need to talk to the staff at the board and care home and share all the basic information about your loved one. Even if the patient is still at an early stage of the disease, it will help them settle if the staff already knows about their favorite meals, books, music, hobbies, activities, etc.
Q: Do You Find That There Are Some Strategies That Work Better Than Others When Explaining An Assisted Living Facility As A Care Option For An Aging Parent
Ms. Drelich: I have often found that emphasizing that living in an assisted living facility can enhance their independence and can enable them to have their needs met without having paid caregivers in their home at all times. This is a particularly good argument for older people who really want their privacy and hate having caregivers around.
If the older person was at one time more social , I might emphasize that this is a way to not be alone and to have people around to share activities and meals with once again.
If they were a homeowner, I might emphasize that this would be a great way to not have to deal with the stress of maintaining the home, including managing shoveling snow and other repairs.
Lastly, I might also explain that an assisted living facility could provide for a multitude of needs, including doctors on site, physical therapy on site, activities, meals, etc.
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Moving Elderly Parents To Assisted Living
This entire process can be very difficult for some older adults. Leaving a home full of memories is an emotional decisioneven for seniors who are looking forward to assisted livingand downsizing when you have accumulated a lifetime of possessions is a lot to ask of someone. Be kind, be sensitive and try to make it be about your parent and not about you. It will take some time for Mom and/or Dad to settle in to their new home, but they will probably enjoy the change once this transition period has passed
Tips On Transitioning A Loved One To Memory Dementia Or Alzheimer’s Care
As your loved ones memory declines, or as the effects of dementia or Alzheimers disease become too much for the family or caregivers to handle, you will have to make the decision to place her in memory, dementia, or Alzheimers care. After you have consulted your family and her healthcare professionals, made financial arrangements, and chosen your loved ones new home, you have to prepare for transitioning her to a new level of care. You understand the need for the move, but it still is difficult for you to accept the decision, and your emotions run even higher when you think about telling your loved one and anticipate moving day.
To help ease the transition for your loved one , we have rounded up 50 tips from caregivers, memory care facility administrators, dementia and Alzheimers experts, and others who have experience in working with seniors who require special care. Keep in mind that everyone handles the transition differently, and you will need to use the tips that best fit your loved ones personality and needs and your situation. Please note, our 50 tips for easing the transition to memory, dementia, or Alzheimers care are not listed in order of importance or value in any way rather, we have categorized them to help you find the tips that will be most useful to you.
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How Long Should It Take To Adjust To A Dementia Care Community
The adjustment period for a loved one transitioning into a dementia care community can span days, weeks, or months. Unfortunately, theres no way to predict how long the adjustment period will last or what challenges and environmental triggers will have to be overcome during the process.
No matter how long the adjustment period takes, however, there are things we can do to ease our loved ones struggles, fears, and anxiety stemming from the initial move into dementia care. Family caregivers should also acknowledge and address their own struggles. Family counseling and family support groups at dementia care communities can help ease the transition for everyone.
The Distinction Between Assisted Living And Memory Care
Assisted living communities cater to seniors with a wide variety of needs and conditions. In a memory care community, the entire community is structured around the unique needs of people with dementia. This means that memory care tends to be much more comprehensive. The senior in your life will spend their days with people highly experienced at managing dementia, and will become friends with other people living with dementia.
Some other factors that make memory care distinct include:
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Have Important Conversations With Community Staff
After moving a parent to memory care, the communitys staff will become an integral support system. On the day of the move, make a plan for continued communication and connection. Noack suggests asking these questions:
- How will you help my parent transition?
- What are my opportunities to see my loved one?
- Do you have a process of sending updates?
- Do you record and share activities that show my loved one being engaged?
Express your gratitude to community staff for helping care for your parent as they acclimate, and for keeping you in the loop.