Transitioning to Assisted Living BEFORE a Crisis

It is human nature not to worry about an event until it happens, but it’s much harder to make good decisions in a moment of crisis. The sad truth is, making important decisions under pressure or with high emotions can create a panic situation. It typically prevents families from making an informed and thoroughly researched placement in the right community. You may end up in a senior living community that’s not a good fit. This can cause you or your loved one to lose their sense of independence and sacrifice their quality of life.

“Mom didn’t want to leave her home, so we thought that we were helping her by keeping her home.”

As a parent or loved one ages, a bad fall or a crisis may seem inevitable. In fact, every 11 seconds, a senior is admitted to the emergency room due to a fall-related injury, and every 19 minutes a senior dies due to a fall-related injury. In the United States of America, 20–30% of older people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries such as bruises, hip fractures, or head trauma. These are major risks you don’t want your loved ones to take with their health.

Moving into an assisted living or dementia care neighborhood should be a well thought out plan. Talking with your senior loved one about moving to assisted living before an injury occurs is a great way to maintain their health and prevent a crisis.  In many cases, seniors can move into an assisted living community and live with complete independence. Then, as their needs change, they have access to the care and assistance they need.

By starting the process early, before a crisis situation, and decluttering ahead of time, the transition will be much easier and enjoyable. It can be an exciting time in someone’s life – a chance to make new friends, learn a new craft, try new foods, and even improve their health – but if it’s an emergency situation and the choices are limited, it will be traumatic.

So, don’t wait for a crisis to consider moving to senior living. Assisted living is here to help when your loved one may still be able to do the cooking/cleaning/etc. – however it may be draining their energy and preventing them from enjoying the social activities that give them quality of life in their Golden Years.  So let us do the heavy lifting, and the senior can live their life to the fullest.