When is it Time to Consider Assisted Living?

When is it time to consider assisted living?

The time to start looking for an assisted living facility is when you notice it is no longer easy for your loved one to function all by themselves.

• Watch the medications: Are they taking medicines at the appropriate times? Do you or another family member feel a need to remind your parent to take their medicine? Are they experiencing medical problems that may be due to not taking medications? Have they recently lost the help of a spouse or other person who was prompting them to take medications?
• Are they keeping up their home? Is their housekeeping ability staying the same? How does the lawn look? Are dishes piling up? Are bathrooms sanitary?
• Is your loved one skipping meals? Have you noticed significant weight loss? When you go to their home, is there healthy food in the cupboard?
• Normal functioning: Is your loved one leaving things undone that they used to get done no matter what? Are bills getting paid? Does your loved one receive calls from collectors?

What is Assisted Living?

Assisted living is there to help the senior stay independent for as long as possible. The idea is to help the resident maintain health and ability by taking care of some of the everyday housekeeping chores such as cooking, cleaning, yard work, and medication maintenance, yet still allow the resident the freedom to come and go as they please, enjoy and entertain family and friends, be social, and enjoy various activities offered.

Make sure to look at several facilities to be able to choose the one that most fits your parent’s needs. Not all assisted living facilities are alike, so here are some factors to consider as you help choose your parent’s new home.