Assisted Living Questions and Concepts: If you're here because you need assistance in the US with some of your daily activities or you have a loved one who needs assistance, you're in the right place. If you're here because someone you love needs assisted living, you're welcome to read along and copy the information for your loved one if they're still able to make these decisions for themselves. I'm writing to the one who needs the assistance, because you're the one who must make these decisions, as hard as they are. Speaking of decisions, if you haven't put your legal affairs in order, it's best to get that done before something happens that makes you unable to speak for yourself. For more information on this, see our pages on Elder Care Law. The person you choose to manage your affairs when you can't should be assisting you in these important decisions. In fact, they can do a lot of the leg work for you. To help you prepare, here are the recent top-selling books on assisted living concepts. We'll be covering some common questions about assisted living, looking at the various concepts available for assisted living today and discussing the adjustment that you need to make when you need assistance for your daily activities. I hope you find the information here and on the other pages helpful as you make this transition.
Assisted Living Questions:
1. What is assisted living?
This is where we find that our age or illness has diminished enough of our
physical or mental ability that we need assistance to live an otherwise
independent life. Most people can maintain themselves quite well even if
they need someone to help clean house, drive a car, buy groceries, pay
bills...even cook. Sometimes, even with these few limitations, we find it
easier or more reliable to have a formal arrangement for someone to assist.
This could be as simple as a family member assigned the responsibility and
scheduling the activities or it could mean you prefer a residential community
with people your own age and professionals providing the assistance.
2. How can I decide between assisted living in my home or
a residential home? This isn't really an "either or" situation.
At the beginning, you may be able to take advantage of certain Medicare home
heath benefits and spend a little money to have shopping, cooking,
house-cleaning, etc. done while you stay in your own home. See our page
Medicare
and Medicaid Use-Abuse for more information. Later, assisted living
will require care available around the clock, making in-home care very
expensive.
3. How do I decide between residential care and care in my children's
home? For a limited number of people, this may be an
option. Here are some things to consider: a. Is there room for me?
b. Are our lifestyles compatible? c. Do they really want me or do they
feel obligated? d. Are they able to provide the care I need?
e. Will my presence and needs make them ignore their children's needs?
f. Can I afford other assisted living options? g. Can I help
them with their needs?
Many people who are not qualified or don't have the disposition become in-home
caregivers out of a sense of obligation or to save the costs of residential
assisted living. As you'll see in the next section, these reasons are no
longer valid.
4. How do I choose a residential assisted living community?
a. Decide the level of care you need. b. Get referrals from
people who's opinion you trust. c. Make a list of the referred and
un-referred communities in your area (should be close to the person you've
designated to manage your affairs when you can't). d. Look at the
grounds and facilities where the public isn't expected to go...is it well
maintained? e. Drop in without an appointment and look around.
f. Do the residents seem happy and friendly? g. Inspect
several residential rooms, activity rooms, dining room...ask to look at rooms
they don't lead you to. h. Talk to people they don't introduce you
to. i. Ask them for their last newsletter to see what activities
there are? j. Ask them how they hire, manage and fire their
employees. k. Ask them for a description of their care levels and
prices...in writing. l. Choose the best 3 to verify your research
further. m. See if they will let you stay a few nights to get the
feel of the place. Interview at least 3 residents at random while you're
there.
5. How do I verify the quality of the facility? Every State
should have a licensing board that keeps a record of reported incidents for each
assisted living facility. Review the records of your top 3 facilities to
see which one had the fewest incidents per 100 rooms in the last 3 years.
Check out the seriousness of the incidents and how they were resolved. At
this point, you should have enough information to make a decision. For
more detail, see
Choosing An Adult Assisted Living Facility.
Concluded at Assisted Living-2
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