3 Signs It May Be Time to Speak With Your Parent About Moving Into an Assisted Living Facility
May 7, 2018

With your parent getting older, you may be worried about them living at home alone. You may feel that your loved one may need help with daily living activities, but you want to make sure before you speak to them about their situation or make any decisions. If so, look for the following signs that it may be time to talk to your parent about moving to an assisted living facility.


1. Personal Hygiene Is Lacking


Lately, when you visit your parent, you may have noticed a change in their overall appearance and personal upkeep. They may start wearing the same clothes every day, or their body odor is strong because they have not bathed in a while.


If your loved one has problems moving around or has become forgetful, their efforts to ensure good personal hygiene may be lacking. Since the immune system declines with age, poor hygiene could lead to illness or infection, especially if your parent has a chronic disease, such as diabetes. Your loved one may benefit from living in an environment that provides assistance with daily hygiene routines.


2. House Becomes Neglected


Along with a decline in their personal hygiene, your parent may also be neglecting common chores around the house. The same tiredness and difficulty moving around can contribute to your loved one feeling too fatigued and overwhelmed to do simple jobs like washing the dishes or throwing old food away.


If the house is riddled with old food containers and dirty dishes, these could put the house at risk for rodent or insect infestations. These types of infestations could then bring in diseases that could make your parent sick.


Along with infestations, clutter can also create a fall risk, especially if your parent has mobility issues. If they were to slip on an old box and fall, your loved one may break a hip or otherwise seriously injure themselves. And, since they live alone, they could remain without help for hours or days.


If you parent is no longer able to keep up with their housework, placement in an assisted living facility is an option. While they are living there, staff would be available to help out with some of the chores.


3. Meals Are Skipped Frequently


If your parent is not keeping up with their hygiene or home, there is a possibility that they may also skip meals on a regular basis. Whether your loved one does not eat because they are too tired to cook or they forget to eat, skipping meals means they are not getting enough nutrition to keep them healthy.


Not getting enough nutrition is detrimental to your parent's health. As a person ages, they do not heal or process nutrients as proficiently as they once did.


When your parent neglects to eat, the body does not have the fuel or backup nutrition to keep it going. Especially if your loved one has diabetes or another chronic condition, this lack of food intake could lead to rapid weight loss and an overall decline in health.

When you visit your parent, take note of how their clothes hang on them. If their clothes are getting baggy, there is a chance they are losing weight from not eating regularly. They may need to live in a facility that prepares and delivers the food to them so they receive the nourishment they need.

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If you feel the time has come to speak with your parent about moving into an assisted living facility, you may have doubts about approaching the subject. Speak with Fountains Senior Care Inc. for guidance on speaking with your loved one, as well as making arrangements to have them come see the facility for themselves.

A group of elderly people are sitting around a table drinking tea.

How to Choose a Senior Care Facility

March 6, 2018
When you have reached the age or health status at which you feel you cannot remain in your family home any longer, finding the right senior care facility can seem daunting. There are many different types of care facilities to choose from, and each has their own benefits and drawbacks depending on your situation. Get to know more about how you should go about choosing a senior care facility for yourself. Then you can be sure that the decision you make is the right one. Think About What You Do Not Want to Give Up One of the first things that you will want to think about when you are choosing a senior care facility is actually what you do not want from that care community. More specifically, you want to think about what you do not want to lose from your current lifestyle. Because there are different types of senior care facilities and different levels of care offered at these facilities, you will not have to give everything up from your current lifestyle if you do not want to. If you are still able to drive yourself to appointments and enjoy the freedom of owning a car, choose a senior care facility that allows for residents to keep cars on the premises for personal use. By determining what you do not want to give up, you will also inadvertently be deciding what you want to or need to do away within your current living situation, which in turn will make it easier to choose the right senior care community for you. Consider What You Need Help With In your daily life, there may be certain activities that you find difficult or troublesome. It is important to generate a list of these struggles that you have when you are trying to find yourself a senior care facility. For example, if you have trouble cooking for yourself because of your mobility or other factors, then you will want to find a care facility that offers three meals a day (and possibly snacks) to residents. Coming up with specific requirements and needs for your care will give you a strong idea of whether or not a specific care center is right for you. If they do not offer the meal assistance you need or other services that are necessary for you to go about your daily life, then you should move on and find one that does. Only Look for Senior Care Facilities That Are Accredited Once you have determined what you want and need out of a senior care facility, you can begin to actually go out and visit those senior care facilities that are available in your area. However, there are additional requirements that you will want to look for aside from meeting your wants and needs. You will need to be sure that the senior care facilities you are considering are accredited. There is an agency known as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) that oversees the certification of facilities that provide aging services. To be accredited by CARF, the senior care facility must go through rigorous processes including an internal examination of their business practices and the care services that they provide as well as be assessed by independent representatives from CARF through an official survey. The survey results are then used to create a quality improvement program that is also a requirement for CARF accreditation. By only looking at facilities that have received accreditation, you will be sure that you are choosing a high-quality facility that strives to continually improve upon the care that they provide to residents. Knowing these factors to consider when you are choosing a senior care facility , you can be sure you choose the best possible facility for yourself.
A group of elderly people are sitting on a couch looking at a book.

Helping Your Parent Choose the Right Assisted Living Facility

January 3, 2018
If your senior parent recognizes that he or she needs more help than you can provide, your parent might willingly agree to start looking for an assisted living facility to move to. This is a courageous and wise decision for your parent to make, and it will offer a lot of benefits for him or her. Here are some tips designed to help you and your parent choose the right facility. Determine Your Parent's Top Needs Before you even begin looking at assisted living facilities, you should sit down with your parent and write a list of what your parent's top needs are. Making a list like this offers a lot of benefits, but the main one is that you can use it to compare different facilities. As you compare facilities, you can determine which facility offers the most services your parent really needs. Here are some examples of needs seniors often have: Companionship - A lot of seniors feel lonely because they live alone. Companionship is a huge benefit offered at most senior living communities, and having companions reduces the loneliness seniors feel. Assistance with daily tasks - One of the top needs many seniors have is assistance completing normal tasks, such as bathing or getting dressed. Help with wounds, illnesses, or medication - Many seniors also need help monitoring their illnesses, diseases, or wounds, and a lot of people in this age group need help taking their medications. These are basic needs seniors often have, but you could include things on your list that your parent really desires. For example, does your parent love being outside and enjoying nature? If so, you should include this on your list. Evaluate the Programs, Services, and Activities Offered A second step you should take is evaluating the programs, services, and activities a facility offers to the residents. When your parent moves to an assisted living facility, you should make sure your parent will have things to do that he or she enjoys. To find this out, you can contact an assisted living center and ask questions about this. Many of these facilities offer activities every single day for the residents to take part in. This may include some of the following activities : Special music or entertainment - Getting to spend time seeing and listening to guests perform songs, music, or other forms of entertainment is a common activity you will find at senior living communities. Games and crafts - Games often include bingo, puzzles, card games, and board games, and your parent might really enjoy doing these things with other residents. A lot of facilities also offer craft time too, which is fun for those who enjoy making things. Outings - One great thing about many facilities is that they offer outings to the residents. This means your parent will not be stuck at home all the time. Instead, he or she can visit places with other people. These are a few of the activities your parent might want to find in a facility. Visit the Facility and Ask Questions After you create a list and determine what activities your parent wants most, you should visit the facilities of your choice. Visiting them is the best way to see and experience all that a facility offers, and this will help your parent find the right place to move to. Choosing an assisted living facility is a huge decision for your parent, and this is one of the reasons you should help your parent with this choice. Fountains Senior Care Inc. is a facility located in Reno, NV and we offer so many great features that seniors really enjoy and need.