Old age brings many unavoidable changes. At that stage, practically everything takes a reverse direction, and the human system starts to get weaker, resulting in lifestyle changes and the need for special care. Due to other engagements in life, you may not have time to render the holistic support your loved one needs as a caregiver. So, this is the idea behind assisted living, which is one of the retirement centers. It aims to provide physical, emotional, and social support for seniors. Here, we will discuss what assisted living is in-depth and explore how it can benefit seniors.
Assisted Living: An Explanation
Assisted living refers to a residential setting designed for people, especially the elderly, who need different personal and medical care levels. It comes first on the list of retirement centers.
Families choose assisted living facilities for loved ones who need special care as a way of supporting them. They can have trained caregivers administering the physical, emotional, and mental help they need.
Assisted living is very similar to a nursing home, except it is in a residential setting. A nursing home instead uses a clinical setting to provide care for seniors. Next will look at how assisted living can be beneficial to seniors.
1. Companionship
Seniors likely have more free time as they may not be physically and economically engaged. Assisted living communities help to channel this free time into something that can bring happiness.
They offer various activities, including:
Movie nights, for entertainment, where they can watch their favorite or trending movies while feasting on a box of popcorn and other snacks.
Engage in friendly competitions, like card tournaments and poker.
Art and music classes enable them to learn new skills and promote creativity.
For those that love to read, book clubs as a means of promoting social life.
2. Assistance for Daily Living
Assisted living is notable for helping with activities of daily living (ADLs). So, this means that they can help these aged ones to run their errands and cater to every other detail necessary for their daily lives.
In addition, seniors enjoy health care assistance, such as caregiver aid, senior care coordination, medication management, and the services of on-call nurses when necessary.
3. Promote Mental Health
At old age, individuals need good mental care to promote their reasoning process and memory. Assisted living offers opportunities for life-long learning to keep the mind of seniors alive.
These communities provide simulating mental resources, lending libraries, lesson languages, puzzle games, and more. They invite professors to lecture on key topics that relate to them and beyond from time to time. There are computer facilities in the community to keep abreast of daily happenings.
4. Safety
Seniors may need physical assistance to keep themselves safe, and that's one of the primary reasons people seek assisted living facilities for their over ones. Assisted living can:
Help Minimize Fall
From reports, most injuries among seniors result from falls. Assisted living communities are intentional about the kind of living facilities they provide to promote accessibility and mobility. For example, this includes flat thresholds, ramps, hallway walk-in showers, and grab bars in bathrooms.
Security
Elderly ones are more prone to break-ins and theft because of their reduced physical strength. Hence this community provides tight security with features like an alarm system to keep residents safe. There are also personal emergency solutions, like fire extinguishers.
On-Call Staff
On-call staff is for emergency cases. One can always use the call buttons in assisted living apartments to put a call across to medical care personnel.
5. Promote Healthy Lifestyle
Fitness and nutrition inevitably change with age. Assisted living is responsible for preparing balanced meals, organizing fitness classes, or physical therapy for seniors. They also incorporate essential nutrients into meals for people with health conditions and offer dietician-approved meals. Further, safe and supervised exercise programs are there for seniors of all abilities.
Conclusion
Assisted living intends to support seniors to enjoy happiness and health in a home-like setting, unlike a nursing home. If you want to ensure your loved ones are safe and happy, this may be the best option for you to consider.
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