Guest Blog: What to Look For in a Senior Living Community

Before you look up a senior living community or Google personal care homes near me, you should first get to know about the common options available for where your aging parents can reside.

Below are the most popular and preferred options to pick from –

Independent Living – This type of living is good for the elderly who can largely function independently with occasional medical care required. Medical care is provided in collaboration with hospitals or medical establishments. Typical services include accommodation, laundry, transportation, housekeeping, and other amenities like pool, concierge service, library, fitness center, etc.
Assisted Living – Assisted living centers, in addition to accommodation also provide onsite health care and help with ADLs like dressing, bathing, and medication management so residents can live independently. The setting is very home-like without the residents having to worry about maintenance, cooking, or cleaning. There’s round-the-clock supervision available.
Memory Care – This facility is specifically designed to treat and care for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s. The staff is medically trained to handle their special medical needs. The rooms and buildings are structured to avoid wandering. Supervision is available all the time with plenty of programs for socialization. There are housing and laundry services along with an emergency medical call system.
Enhanced Living – You can think of this facility as a move up from Independent living with a whole lot of extra services available.

Things To Look For In A Senior Living Community

Senior Living Culture

Now the living culture is not something that you define in words. It’s mostly just a feel or a vibe that you pick up on. At times, you just know it when you visit the facility. Other times it’s a hunch of an intuition.

To truly assess the culture, it’s better if you call up your list of communities and visit them one by one. Observe the residents and see if they seem happy. How is the staff? Are they polite to respond? Is the overall energy of the place happy? Ask for social activities to keep the residents happy.

Lifestyle & Wellness

Lifestyle and wellness largely depend on the social calendar of the place. So, be sure to look at those activities as well as exercise, health, and wellness programs. Make sure to ask about how often the residents are allowed to go out for activities.

What about housekeeping and laundry services? How often are friends and families allowed to visit? Is there a dedicated private or common area for family get-togethers? What about pets? Are they allowed?

Staff and Care

How many staff members are present at the facility? Are the staff members nice to interact with the residents? Do they seem polite? What kind of help can you expect from them? Is the medical staff made to undergo regular training to update their knowledge?

What’s the mode of communication for updating families on the health updates of the residents? Also, how quickly can you expect your questions to be answered? What kind of care is available for residents with special medical issues such as diabetes, memory, or mobility issues?

What’s Food Like?

Food is a huge part of staying healthy during old age. So, this is something you must not overlook. If possible, arrange for a tour of the mess/kitchen. Look into how the food is prepared. Are the conditions there hygienic?

What about the food menu? Does it look interesting? Is it extensive and accommodates special dietary restrictions such as gluten-free and vegan-friendly foods? What are the dining hours like and is there food sampling available?

Extra Amenities

It’s not uncommon for people to get stuck between two close contenders. Sometimes two communities can look exactly the same; making it difficult to pick one. When faced with such a dilemma it’s often the extra amenities that help you make the right choice.

See if the laundry and housekeeping services are free. Some facilities charge extra for those. Look into community events, transportation, or socialization activities. Anything extra is a good thing to consider.

History and Reputation

How long has the community been in business? For how long has the management been with the community? What about the staff? For how many years they have been working there?

One of the best things to discern all this and more is to go online. Check out reviews and see what they have to say. Pay attention to how the community has responded to negative reviews. Only avoid the community if you come across something disturbing like bad handling of residents or complete neglect on part of the staff.

Bottom Line

Selecting the right living community for your senior can seem like a daunting task. But, if you invest a little bit of time and effort, it should be a cakewalk.

By Jim|2023-11-20T17:13:57-05:00December 3rd, 2023|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off

Guest Post: Keeping Seniors Safe at Home

While there’s no 100% absolute way to ensure your elderly parent or loved one doesn’t fall,
there are things that can be done to help minimize the risk. I’ll give you a quick checklist of
five steps to a safer home for a senior. Likewise, click here for some alternative ways to
steer clear of falls.

1. Furniture, accessories, and narrow pathways:
Is there furniture crowding a room or creating narrow pathways? Are there inessential
items or decorations all over the house? None of us like to throw things away and we all
know seniors love to keep antiques and knick-knacks, but sometimes they can pose a
hazard to elderly home safety. That old rug underneath the coffee table can trip you easier
than you think. Make sure there is nothing impeding easy travel throughout the house. A
straight path is the easiest path so there should be no navigating around corners or edges.

2. Doorsills and steps:
Now, these two sound like obvious culprits, but you’d be surprised how often they’re
underestimated. A quick remedy is to paint doorsills a different color or buy reflective tape
for the edge as a reminder that they’re there. This goes for the edge of stairs as well.
Confirm that there’s no loose carpeting, unstable wood, or erosion of any kind on steps or
doorsills. Also, make sure any area with a step or uneven surface is very well lit.

3. Lighting:
This one is perhaps the easiest of all. Double-check that all areas of the house are well lit,
with bulbs at least 60 watts or higher in each socket. Remove all exposed cords and make
sure any lamp or light-switch is within easy reach. If the lamp closest to a favorite reading
chair is hard to reach while sitting, move it closer. Also, check that there is no risk of any
lamp falling or being tripped over. Again, lamps should remain within reach, but still out of
the way.

4. Telephones:
Keep a telephone, within easy reach, in each room. This prevents your elderly loved one
from feeling compelled to rush to a ringing phone. Not only can getting up too quickly cause
light-headedness or dizziness, but it can also cause an elderly person to lose focus on their
surroundings and mistakenly fall in an easily preventable situation.

5. Bathrooms:
Bathroom floors and shower tubs can get slippery, we know this. To combat slipping,
guarantee there are either bars affixed to the wall or a counter to grip while getting up and
down off the toilet and in and out of the shower. Also, purchase adhesive grip-tape for the
tub bottom and again, provide adequate lighting throughout the bathroom. Shower rugs
can also slip so place double-sided tape on the bottom of the rug to impede the rug’s
movement.

If you are worried about a loved one, these are very easy and painless steps to minimize the
risk of in-home falls. As mentioned before, however, there is no 100% way to prevent accidents so medical alert systems provide a great backup. Not only do they give you peace
of mind when you’re not around your loved one, but they make the wearer feel safe as well.

Jacob Edward is the manager of Senior Planning in Phoenix Arizona. Senior Planning is geared towards helping
seniors and the disabled with finding and arranging types of care, as well as applying for state and federal
benefits.

By Jim|2023-05-30T11:56:36-05:00July 1st, 2023|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off

Guest Blog: How to Best Care for Elderly Patients with COVID-19

COVID-19 is an infectious disease that is characterized by dry cough, fever, and fatigue. It is usually caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Most of the people who suffer from this disease end up recovering even without receiving any treatment. Others become seriously sick and need intensive medical care. The people who are at risk of severe illness are older adults and people with underlying health conditions. That is why you need to be careful when taking care of an older adult suffering from COVID-19. Below are more details on how you should take care of such a person.

Help Cover Their Basic Needs

Just like other people, older people suffering from COVID-19 have basic needs that have to be met. For instance, they need to eat, put on clothes and sleep well. Therefore, as a caregiver, you need to ensure that the sick person eats and sleeps well. When shopping for foods, buy them fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, legumes, and unprocessed food. Eating these foods will help boost the patient’s immune system, helping them recover from COVID-19.

You should also encourage the patient to take at least eight cups of water every day. This water will transport nutrients throughout their body and regulate their body temperature. If they are not willing to drink too much water, encourage them to consume fruits and vegetables that contain water.

Ensure That They Take Their Medications

COVID-19 patients are often advised to take a few over-the-counter medicines that help manage COVID-19 symptoms. For instance, some of them are told to take medications that help reduce fever and cough syrups. Hiring in-home senior care would ensure that your patient takes all their medications.

While caring for this person, you should check whether the prescribed medications are helping improve the patient’s symptoms or not. If they are not improving, you should contact the patient’s doctor. You should also help the sick person follow any other instructions given by the doctor.

Monitor The Patient’s Symptoms

You should constantly monitor the symptoms that the sick elderly are experiencing. A home pulse oximeter can help you do that. This medical device measures the amount of oxygen in a person’s bloodstream. Therefore, it can help you know when your patient is experiencing difficulty in breathing. For instance, if it shows a reading of less than 92%, you should know that the patient is experiencing difficulty in breathing, and you should have them hospitalized. You should also have your patient hospitalized if they are experiencing emergency warning signs. These warning signs include:

Bluish face or lips
Blue, pale, or grey-colored nail beds, skin or lips
Persistent chest pain
Trouble breathing
Confusion

Do Not Leave the Patient Alone

You may be tempted to go out and leave your patient alone after you notice that they are doing fine. However, you should not do that as the patient’s health condition may worsen after you go out. If you have to go out, request a good in-home senior care provider to take care of the sick person while you are away.

While spending time with the sick person, you should wear a face mask and encourage the sick person to wear a face mask. You should not touch your face mask while wearing it, and you should throw it away immediately after use. You should also ensure that you stay at least 6 feet away from this person.

Clean The Patient’s Personal Items

While caring for an older adult suffering from COVID-19, you should clean this patient’s personal items. For instance, you should wash their clothes and personal household items. You should use regular detergent to clean these items and warm water. You should wear disposable gloves while cleaning these items. After you are done cleaning them, remove the gloves and wash your hands with water and soap. You should place the dirty gloves in the waste bin kept in the sick person’s room. You should also clean the surfaces in your home that people often touch. These surfaces include tabletops, doorknobs, and counters.

COVID-19 is an infectious disease. That is why you need to be careful when caring for an elderly person suffering from this disease. You should ensure that this person takes their medications, eats well, and gets enough rest.

By Jim|2021-09-24T11:53:41-05:00September 24th, 2021|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off

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