The decision to move into an assisted living or independent living community is not always an easy one. After all, most homes have a lifetime of memories within their walls, even if your parent has lived there for only a short time. From the pictures on the walls to comfortable furniture and familiar scenery, there is something special about home.
A home is so much more than a place to store your things – it is a safe place that allows every member of your family to lead full, active lives. Sometimes a home cannot provide the safe, nurturing environment that older adults need to thrive, no matter how much love and support they receive from their families. It can be difficult to know when to move to senior living, however, especially if you are unfamiliar with independent and assisted living communities.
Today’s senior living communities offer living environments specifically tailored to the needs and desires of older adults. Independent living frees residents from the hassles of household chores, landscaping and home maintenance, for example, which gives older adults more time to engage in their favorite pastimes. Assisted living is for active people who just need a hand with certain activities, such as bathing, getting dressed or preparing meals.
Pros of Staying Put
Many older adults want to stay where they are for a variety of reasons:
- Moving can be time consuming and a lot of physical labor
- Familiarity with the layout
- Finding a new place requires effort
- Fear of the unknown
- Emotional ties to the residence
- Concerns about losing one’s independence
Cons of Staying
While all of the above are all valid reasons to remain in one place, there comes a time in many older adults’ lives when taking care of a residence becomes overwhelming; it can also be dangerous. Living alone can also cause isolation and loneliness, which can increase your parents’ risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, a weakened immune system, Alzheimer’s disease, and even death.
Benefits of Making the Move to Senior Living
Low maintenance lifestyle
Everybody loves a well-maintained home and meticulously-kept landscape, but doing household chores can be time-consuming and mowing the lawn or tending the gardens can be back-breaking work. Senior living communities eliminate home maintenance tasks, freeing their residents to spend their time visiting with friends and family, engaging in a favorite hobby, or just relaxing.
Daily Care Services
Assisted living communities offer a variety of services to help your parents with activities of daily living, which can include:
- Bathing or showering
- Maintaining dental, hair, and nail hygiene
- Selecting and putting on appropriate clothes and outerwear
- Preparing food and eating
- Moving from one room to another or transferring from a bed to a chair
- Toileting
- Medication management
Peace of mind
Safety is always a top priority for people of any age, but especially for your aging parents. Approximately 36 million older adults in the United States fall each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and these falls can have serious, life-changing consequences. Senior living communities offer a number of residence amenities to ensure safety, such as grab bars, emergency call buttons, smoke detectors, and sprinklers.
Security
Security is also important, as older adults may be especially vulnerable to intruders, strangers, and even unwanted visits from unscrupulous solicitors. Senior living communities have all the safety and security measures your parent needs to feel secure. These measures may include security lighting and cameras, check-in areas for visitors, and specially trained personnel to screen visitors.
Convenience
Senior living communities are the ultimate in convenience, with a wide array of services just steps from your parent’s door. Imagine how wonderful it would be to have entertainment, life-enriching activities, movies, manicures, social events, and fun treats without ever having to leave home!
Reduces stress and worry
Moving to senior living can decrease stress and worry for both the older adult and for the rest of their family. If you are like many adult children, you are concerned that your parent will fall, make dangerous errors in their medications, miss meals, suffer social isolation, and face other challenges of living alone or with another aging adult. This stress and worry can significantly decrease quality of life for the entire family.
Whether your parents could benefit from independent living or assisted living, King’sBridge offers the best in senior living communities. We understand that moving to senior living can be a difficult choice, so we invite you to visit King’sBridge today. We’d love to show you just how great life can be at King’sBridge.