Top 10 Smart Strategies for Evaluating An Assisted Living Community

Visit numerous residences and compare for yourself, keeping a journal where you jot down notes about each community.
Pay close attention to the ways in which staff members attend to residents and meet their needs. Also, ask what the staff to resident ratio is.
Carefully review the community’s calendar of activities, trips and planned events in particular; look for a varying assortment of activities designed to encourage everyone to get involved and keep them engaged.
Try the food personally for taste and ask to see a monthly menu to determine variety. Ask if special dietary needs are accommodated.
Look around the community and appraise such things as decorating schemes, along with cleanliness, landscaping and other “housekeeping” criteria that are indicative of a high quality assisted living community. Take note of items vital to a well designed assisted living residence, such as lighting, unobstructed pathways and accessibility.
Stroll through the “common” areas where people congregate, including dining rooms and lounges; making a mental note of how residents share one another’s company.
Ask about the security and safety measures that are in place at the community.
Make it a point to go inside an apartment or two, evaluating such things as ease of moving about the apartment.
Have a clear understanding of price structure. Also, inquire about any additional costs. Are there additional fees based on care needs? Ask what the annual increase in price is.
Contact your county’s and/or state’s licensing agency to make certain the community is up to date with inspections and other requirements.

George Starkesen

“The best part of The Arbors are the people, the programs and the independence. I take daily walks around the neighborhood”

Doris Crotty

“I like the programs offered, they keep me busy and engaged. I love living here”

Dolores McCrone

“I’ve made The Arbors my home and I am very content”

Josephine Foschino

“I love making new friends and enjoying life”

Gladys Bischoff

“I love my beautiful room and all my friends”

Diane

“The life of a caregiver is truly very difficult, and with no training, I’m just a daughter, I made it work, but it got to be too much. It was a very difficult decision to have my mom move here. The folks here made my transition very easy, very helpful, very friendly, the staff is great. It was just a real comfort to me when I left. I felt that my mom was in really good hands. I have such peace of mind knowing that my mom is being well taken care of at The Arbors.”

Tom

“You can go home and sleep at night knowing your loved one is being taken care of. I am grateful to call The Arbors home for my father-in-law.”

Joan

“Living at The Arbors has changed my life completely. I am in a new world. When I started to fall last year, and had to be rushed to the hospital, I was scared. I didn’t want to leave my home. But I’ve made a lot of friends here. It’s a big family. Arbors makes it very comfortable for me. The staff are great, they would take you to the moon if they could. I say my prayers every night and thank God for finding this place for me.”

Elaine

“I love my apartment at The Arbors. It’s just enough space for me to relax. I spend my days socializing with my new friends in the shared spaces, so my home actually got bigger, not smaller.”

Helen

“Make new friends, but keep the old. Some are silver and some are gold…Over eight years, I’ve made a lot of friends, new ones, old ones, and I’ve enjoyed all of them immensely. I guess coming into a place like this, you wonder who’s going to be a friend, but then you find so many friends, whether they’re residents or staff. My favorite part about The Arbors is the people that I’ve met, they take good care of me.”

Providing an all-inclusive nurturing, supportive, and active environment that fosters independence yet offers assistance when needed.

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