Choosing assisted living facilities is never easy.
The United States holds just about 30,000 assisted living facilities within its borders. You can easily find several assisted living facility options near you. However, it’s harder to be certain that you’ve chosen the right place for your aging loved one.
When they’re choosing assisted living facilities, people tend to make the same mistakes. Luckily, you don’t have to follow in their footsteps. Read on to learn about seven of these common mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Choosing Assisted Living Facilities Based on Closeness
You might feel tempted to choose the closest assisted living facility to your home. This way, you can visit your loved one often. However, your convenience may not equal your loved one’s comfort.
Your loved one may have to live in a facility 24/7. They’ll likely only see you for a few hours every day at most. As much as your loved one can enjoy seeing you, they’ll spend more time being or not being comfortable.
Make sure that you prioritize your loved one’s comfort levels above everything else.
2. Not Involving Your Loved One in the Decision
The best way that you can ensure your loved one’s comfort is to involve your loved one in the decision as much as possible. It may seem impossible if your loved one is struggling with certain diseases. However, if this is the case, you can consider what you know about your loved one and look into aspects of his or her past.
For example, if your loved one had a journal, you can read that to consider what they might like. You can think about what activities your loved one enjoys and list them down. Then you can find an assisted living facility that offers similar activities for seniors.
In addition, try talking to people that your loved one knew or knows. They’ll likely have some ideas for some benefits of assisted living facility options your loved one will enjoy.
3. Looking Through the Different Options Alone
You can also get some outside opinions on senior living facilities from people that you know. First, give friends and other family members all the facts. Tell them about your loved one’s needs, interests, and the facilities that you think would suit him or her well.
Each friend or family member should have some opinion on whether you’re choosing the right option or not. This can help you gain some perspective on your possible decision. They may also make other suggestions for senior living facilities that they’ve used.
You can consider the other options if you wish. However, keep in mind that the facilities they’ve used may not be the ones you should use. Your loved one’s needs may not be the same as their loved one’s needs.
4. Not Considering Your Loved One’s Future Needs
Speaking of which, it’s important to consider what assistance your loved one may need in the future. Seniors who are suffering from certain medical conditions like Alzheimer’s need help from specialized living facilities. You can move your loved one if they start to show certain symptoms, but that can get inconvenient.
Take your loved one to a doctor before you start deciding on living facilities. Check to see if your loved one has any early signs of certain diseases. If they will experience this disease in the future, check them into a facility that is prepared to treat this disease.
You can also look into your family history to measure risks. Plenty of senior diseases are genetic.
5. Not Learning the Full Picture Of Assisted Living Costs
Another aspect of considering your loved one’s future needs has to do with pricing. When your loved one needs more care, the price you pay for the facility can increase more than you’d expect. You might have trouble adapting to this price change.
However, the price doesn’t have to change. The pricing structure where you pay more to add certain care options to a base price is known as a-lá-carte. The other pricing structure option is known as level-of-care.
If you choose the latter pricing structure, you’ll pay the same amount no matter how much care your loved one needs. Just keep in mind that this payment structure can be more expensive upfront.
6. Not Taking Tours of the Assisted Living Facility Options
Senior living facilities won’t necessarily try to purposely deceive you. However, even real pictures of a facility can receive heavy touch-ups and staging. The best way to know what an assisted living facility is like is to go there yourself.
Tour as many assisted living facility options as you can. Write down some questions and ask them to the assisted living staff. You should also try to picture your loved one living in the space and how they would feel while they’re living there.
You may even try volunteering at certain living facilities if possible. This can help you learn what life is like for the seniors at the facility.
7. Making Your Final Decision Too Quickly
If your loved one needs assisted living care quickly, you may feel tempted to make the decision quickly. However, it’s dangerous to do things this way. Your loved one is likely to end up in a care facility that doesn’t meet his or her needs.
Take as much time as you can to make the decision. You can also get other family members to help you with the search. It’s highly important to make sure that your loved one is comfortable.
Consider Placing Your Loved One in Our Assisted Living Facility
It can take some extra time to ensure that your loved one will get the proper care that they need. However, you’ll be able to sleep better at night knowing that they’re being well taken care of.
If you live in Omaha county, consider checking our services out while you’re choosing assisted living facilities. Our trained professionals enrich the lives of our residents every day. Use the contact us form on this page to ask questions or schedule a tour of our facility.