Having made the exciting and admittedly slightly nerve-wracking decision to move to a thriving senior living community is not without its obstacles, mainly in terms of deciding which potential facility is the best one for you.
In a concerted effort to help you make your decision, here are some of the most popular questions that people need to ask when moving to a senior living community.
When is the Right Time to Move to Assisted Living?
There is a simple answer to this first question.
The right time to move to an assisted living community is simply when you feel the time is right, not before and not after. Naturally, this is rarely an easy decision, which is why it is important to choose a reputable facility, such as a Mapleton UT senior living community, with staff and medical professionals who will be willing to assist you with literally anything you may need while still helping you maintain your independence.
What is the Difference Between Assisted Living Facilities & Nursing Homes
There are, indeed, many differences between moving to an assisted living community and living in a nursing home, but the main overarching difference between the two is that residents in assisted living receive varying levels of assistance and care appropriate to their individual living situation.
In a nursing home, residents usually require a more round-the-clock care and treatment plan and generally have more complicated and even visible health conditions that require a more professional and specific level of care.
What Are the Key Advantages of Moving to an Assisted Living Community?
There are, undeniably, a huge number of exciting and rewarding advantages to making the choice to move to an assisted living facility, either for individual residents or when moving to such a community as a married couple.
Just a selection of the most fruitful benefits of such a move include, amongst a host of others, the following:
- A renewed focus on having fun and entertainment
- Considerably more free time to spend on what you love to do
- Safe and instantly accessible transportation to shops, clinics, and local attractions
- Compassionate, consistent, and professional medical treatment and care
- Peace of mind not just for yourself but for your loved ones too
- Investing in your future both in a financial and a health context
- An expansion of your social circle and new friends
What are the Funding Options for Living in Assisted Living?
Moving home, regardless of where you are moving from and your new destination, can be expensive and slightly complicated, to say the least.
There are, fortunately, several proven-to-be effective methods of funding your move to an assisted living community, with the most common being paying from your own savings and from either remortgaging or, indeed, selling your current home and other assets.
Using private funds is how many prospective residents fund the move, relying on pension payments, retirement accounts, or even funding provided by their children.
What Are the Key Questions to Ask Staff?
Finally, it is absolutely essential that you remember that when whittling down your longlist of potential communities to your shortlist, you must find the time to take a comprehensive tour of the site, as well as speak to staff members.
The best way to ensure that you do not forget to ask anything important to you while taking the tour is to have a set of questions written down ready, which should include asking about transportation to medical appointments and other outings. Make sure to find out if such transportation is included in the fees you pay each month and whether everything is fully or partially included or not.
Other important things to enquire about in this instance include how the food service and meal planning works and checking that dietary requirements and individual allergies are always taken care of and that there is on-site security or at least always professionals around should residents need something.