Moving Into A Better Place
It is a sea change, especially for a senior when he moves from home to an assisted living center. Somehow, older people tend to see their home as a haven of security. They are also so used to the way things are and the routine they follow that it is extremely hard for them to move to a new place that seems so strange. Physically, they find it difficult to adjust and if ever they do, it takes a long time. They yearn for the old and the familiar. Emotionally too, it is a wrench because over and above the convenience, there usually is a deep bond for the place they called home, very often running into decades.
This is why it would be a big hurdle to cross to convince them that they have to move. Once you have finally convinced them, comes the next crucial step. This is to find an assisted facility that you know will be the right one. What you need is a checklist so you can keep score of each one you go to see, compared with what you are on the lookout for. So what if your checklist is detailed and fussy? It is for your parent after all and he or she is going to spend all day there most of the time. It has to be a great place, no compromising.
Look carefully at the design and here you need to be thorough. This isn’t an apartment where you can change things around if you don’t like it. You have to have two parameters – what the facility looks like and how it is run. So check out on how well prepared it is in case of emergencies, how safe it is, how good the food is and how quickly they respond to a situation. You also need to take a look at the other residents there so you get a feel of the kind of company your parent will have. Talk to some of them if necessary and look around to see if they are happy or grouchy. You can usually tell by the look on their face because old people usually don’t pretend.
One important factor in your decision should be how close it is to where you live. If you are going to be going there often, it should be easy to reach and it will also help you to go oftener and be around especially in the case of an emergency. It might be a good idea to also discuss it not only in great detail with your parent but also with the rest of the family, especially if there are siblings involved. Take your parent along after you have brought down the search to two or three of the best ones. You can usually gauge their reaction right away. The staff of each place also has a lot to do with how good things will be so pay special attention to this factor. When you prepare senior citizens about the move, it does not come as a great shock and they are better able to adjust to the move and to cope.
