Senior Living Advisor Services
Any senior can tell you that life has a way of flying by faster than you would believe until it’s already past. By the time your parents are seniors and ready to retire to more suitable living accommodations, they may be a little less prepared than they would like to be. The good news is that there are resources available that can help!
How Do I Find the Right Senior Living Option for Me?
There are plenty of services our senior living advisors can offer you. When making decisions about which senior living options fit your loved one’s needs, there are several things you need to think about. What accommodations do they need? How is their health, both mental and physical? What is their mobility like? Do they need assistance with basic tasks? What are their transportation needs? Are they in need of companionship and socialization?
A senior care advisor can help you figure out what type of senior living is likely to be a good fit for your parents. That could mean in-home care, assisted living, or a memory care facility.
What Is a Senior Living Advisor & How Do They Help Families?
A senior living advisor is a professional who can help seniors and their families navigate the task of selecting an appropriate living accommodation. Our senior living advisors already have a solid understanding of how elder care and senior living works. Use our expertise to help expedite the process of finding a solution for your parents. Our senior care advisors start by getting to know your parents, their needs, and their circumstances. From there, they will put together a list of communities that could be suitable.
Why Work with a Senior Living Advisor?
Navigating the process of finding a new home for your parents can be difficult and stressful. Most of us aren’t familiar with the different senior living options or where to find the information we need. Our senior living advisors know all of that and more! Working with us can make the whole process go much quicker and smoother, saving time and money. An experienced senior living advisor can also direct you to facilities with upstanding reputations that meet your needs.
What’s the Catch?
Don’t you have to pay for services like that? Well, no, actually – you don’t. Senior living advisors are paid a referral fee by the facility you end up selecting. Our advisors are paid a flat rate, no matter which facility we refer you to — so we’re not incentivized to send you to the more expensive facilities.
What Are the Different Senior Living Options?
Senior living options depend on the degree of assistance your loved one needs.
In-home care can be a good option for seniors who need intermittent assistance and prefer the familiar comforts of home. In-home care can include things like companion care, personal assistance care, or home health care.
Independent living is a similar option that allows your parents to live in their home instead of a facility. The difference is that independent living communities tend to be senior-only communities, so your parents can socialize with other seniors.
Residential care homes provide a little more assistance. They tend to be smaller facilities, making it easier to offer more personalized care and service.
Assisted living facilities may offer a higher level of assistance to residents. Facilities with memory units can be especially beneficial to those with cognitive disabilities or are considered a wander risk.
Signs That It May Be Time for Senior Living Care
There are some clear signs that you should look for that indicate that it’s time to bring up the topic of transitioning to senior living.
A decrease in their mobility
An increase in forgetfulness or other cognitive decline
They aren’t as capable of handling grooming and hygiene practices on their own
They are struggling to maintain their home
If you notice one or more of these challenges, it may be time to talk to your loved one about senior living care. Physical changes such as weight loss or signs of injury can be another indicator, as can a loss of interest in hobbies, which can be a sign of depression in seniors.
Questions to Ask a Senior Living Advisor
It can be tough to know what to ask a senior living advisor once you’ve decided to take advantage of their services. You might have so many questions that you don’t know where to start, or maybe you don’t know enough yet to know what to ask. Given all the options out there, figuring out what level of care your parents need can be an excellent place to start.
How Do I Know If We Need Independent Living, Assisted Living, or Memory Care?
Our senior care advisors will learn about your parents’ situation. That includes figuring out their current abilities, their health, and what level of help they need to have their needs met. These are personal questions, but they’re essential to determine the best assistance level.
Your senior care advisor will then communicate their observations and recommendations regarding what they believe to be an appropriate type of assistance to look for.
How Do I Know If We Need Independent Living, Assisted Living, or Memory Care?
There are some general guidelines that you may find helpful when figuring out what level of care is most suitable for your parents.
Independent living can be a good fit if your parents are interested in an interactive community with people their age but don’t want to deal with cooking and cleaning.
If they need assistance with some activities of daily living but are still reasonably independent, assisted living may be the right choice.
Memory care is often the best option for those who have experienced cognitive declines such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.
There’s a lot to get through when it comes to navigating the process of helping your parents choose a new, more appropriate living situation. The good news is that senior living advisors can take a lot of the burden off your shoulders and make your job a lot easier. Give yourself a bit of a break and take advantage of this resource that should be available at no cost to you.