Making the decision to join an assisted living community is rarely easy. Most people highly value their independence and therefore may delay the transition to living in a community as long as possible. Many of us may also fear the whole concept of moving our parents into such a community, because we project our own worries about loss of independence onto them. But it is possible to wait too long to move our loved ones into a home that is more appropriate for them. Here are some of the signs you should look for to help you realize when it's time for your loved one to join an assisted living community.
#1. Medical Needs are Requiring More Attention
Many senior adults start to develop more medical issues over time. As your loved one becomes less capable of fully caring for him or herself, the situation gets more challenging. For a while, you may be able to get by with home care provided by visiting nurses. However, eventually as care is needed on a basis around the clock, instead of only a short period each day, it can be overwhelming and can become too difficult to manage without more help. Dementia is a particularly difficult diagnosis that nearly always requires constant help and is far beyond the scope of what most families can provide. Moving to an assisted living community is often the right decision when more medical care is needed.
#2. Activities of Daily Living are Difficult
The hallmark of being independent is being able to provide for one's own activities of daily living. Some of the daily living activities that are important to be able to perform include cooking, doing laundry, paying bills on time and maintaining personal hygiene. When these activities become too difficult, it's a strong sign that your loved one may need more help on an ongoing basis and moving to an assisted living community would be a good choice.
#3. Your Ability to Help is Limited
In earlier generations, families were able to take in their senior relatives and care for them. Many people today still feel like some subconscious pressure on themselves to provide that care for their own parents. But life today is far different than it was in those earlier days, and few people are able to provide that amount of care anymore. For one thing, previous generations often had one parent at home full-time, and many of today's families have two working adults. Adults today are also working for many more years and postpone retirement far beyond what they once did, and families often live in completely different states. A geriatric care manager can help you to make the decision if you are struggling with it or if there are intense disagreements between you and a sibling about how to handle the care for your parent.
#4. The Family Home is Too Hard to Maintain
Most of us accumulate a lot of possessions over the years, and if your loved one is still in the same house where you grow up, it was designed to accommodate a growing family. But having a lot of belongings and a large home requires a lot of maintenance, which can become increasingly difficult as we get older. Rightsizing means deciding which possessions are still necessary and how much space we really need. Fewer possessions and a smaller space can help create a simpler life.
Contact us today for how we can help you decide when it's the right time for your loved one to move to an assisted living community.
