Helping a Loved One Transition to Assisted Living
Moving to assisted living can be a stressful time for all parties involved. Here are some ways you can help make this transition easy for your loved one:
1. Recognize your loved one’s feeling of loss: Regardless if you or your loved one chose to move to a facility, leaving one’s home can be a difficult process to deal with. Respect your loved one’s grief and sympathize with them. While it’s important to focus on the positive side, allow them to adjust and acknowledge their feelings.
2. Help set up your loved one’s living space: Support your loved one in personalizing their room, bringing in their favorite furniture, pillows, blankets, and books that will give the new living space the feeling of home. Allow them to take the lead in deciding which possessions or decorations they want to have in their new home.
3. Work through concerns together: If your loved one raised issues or concerns, acknowledge that while these may be part of the adjustment, serious attention may be required from you. Talk with them the steps you can take together to resolve the issue. if the problem turns out to be a big one with no apparent solution, be ready to consider other senior care facilities.
4. Call and visit as often as you can: Make your loved one feel that they are always remembered by checking on them regularly. Don’t wait until a special occasion to make them feel loved and cared for. Continue to include them in family outings and events whenever possible.
How to Choose an Assisted Living Facility or Community
Moving to assisted living can be a stressful time for all parties involved. Here are some ways you can help make this transition easy for your loved one:
Staff: Do they welcome and greet you with a friendly, genuine smile? Do they show interest in you or does their service feel rushed and impersonal? How do they interact and deal with residents? Do they seem stressed or overwhelmed? Are there nurses on site and are they skilled to handle emergencies?
Residents: Observe the current older age adults in the facility. Do they look happy and satisfied? Do you see smiles on their faces as they interact with one another and when they talk with staff? Do they seem like they’re the kind of people you want to get to know better and engage with? Are there activities in the facility that they enjoy?
Facility: Check the facility inside and out – is it something that you can consider your home or envision spending your older age adult years in? Do you feel safe and secure when you walk around the common areas and your room? Are there safety features installed throughout the facility to accommodate your changing needs over time? How is the food offered in the cafeteria?