Displaying items by tag: Assisted Living

Do you feel like you are having to keep tabs on your aging parent? Are you second guessing if mom or dad should still be living on their own and may need more supervised care? There are several hidden warning signs that can be indicators an aging parent needs assisted living care.

• Forgetfulness 
• House is a Mess
• Changes in Mobility
• Poor Personal Hygiene 
• Not Engaging in Day-to-Day Activities

When observing your older adult parent in their living space, you’ll want to keep tabs on the following warning signs to assess whether or not they can continue to independently care for themselves and their home. You may want to keep a notebook, so you can see patterns of behavior and can share this information with your parent and their physician. This information will be helpful for decision making and for engaging with assisted living counselors when you start evaluating residential options for your parent.

When you are making notes about these changes in your aging parent, you’ll also want to observer how they respond to the changes themselves and how they respond to you when you try to discuss these things with them: 

• Does it frustrate them? Is the frustration at an acceptable level? 
• Can they problem-solve to find a healthy, reasonable work-a-round to the change? 
• Do they get anxious, unnecessarily aggravated or belligerent? 
• Do they brush it off, even though they changing their behavior as a result and this is affecting their usual quality of life? 

1. Forgetfulness. It may not seem like a “hidden warning” because forgetfulness in older adults is something we typically think of as really obvious. Before forgetfulness gets to the problematic point, it progresses, for most people, at a slow pace. You’ll want to look for consistent, insidious patterns of forgetfulness. This is more than just occasionally misplacing the car keys—something all of us do from time-to-time. When the car keys (or anything else) go missing more than occasionally, and to the point where the keys can’t be found so your parent can’t drive the car, that’s the kind of progression that’s a sign something more serious is going on with memory. 

A red-hot warning sign for forgetfulness, which can have tragic outcomes is your aging parent forgetting to take their medication. Be sure that you are keeping tabs on their dosing—that they aren’t taking too much or too little (or none at all), which could result in a medical emergency situation. Other significant warning signs for forgetfulness include: not remembering where they placed important documents, forgetting to cash checks received, to pay bills electronically or by mail, or placing perishable foods in a cabinet instead of the fridge.

2. House is a Mess. If your parent wasn’t a messy person most of their life, and their living space starts to look in disarray, that could be cause for concern. Take notice of:

• the condition of floors, carpets, counters (they stopped vacuuming or dusting) 
• piles of dirty dishes in the kitchen
• the cleanliness of the fridge – is there spoiled food in fridge?
• trash piles inside / outside the home
• evidence of hording
• evidence of insects or rodents
• grass has not been cut/front porch swept
• if they own pets: are the pets toileting in the home?

These things could be signs of forgetfulness and/or changes in mobility, meaning your parent is no longer able to do these things and is ashamed to tell you.

3. Changes in Mobility. The obvious signs are frequent falls and similar mishaps with movement. Before that degree of change, you’ll want to look for these hidden warning signs in your aging parent’s mobility:

• Do they hold onto furniture to move about a room?
• Have trouble standing from a sitting position? Rising from their bed?
• Do they have difficulty navigating even a few steps or the curb?
• Are they avoiding going up or down stairs even though that’s the only way to access a bedroom or bathroom? (In which case—are they washing themselves at the kitchen sink or sleeping on the couch?)

4. Poor Personal Hygiene. If an aging parent suddenly looks unkept, has body odor, or seems to be wearing the same clothes over again, these are subtle signs they are losing the ability to independently care for themself. So pay attention to these things each time you visit:

• Are they brushing their teeth?
• Are they doing laundry (can they access the laundry room?)
• Are the closets/drawers for clothes organized or in disarray?
• Do they have soap, deodorant, and other personal hygiene products or are they forgetting to buy these things?
• If they usually wore make-up, have the stopped or are they applying it wrong?

5. Not Engaging in Activities. If your aging parent has discontinued participation in their usual hobbies, social outings with friends, or routine shopping... and this is not due to an acute illness or minor physical set-back, be concerned. You’ll want to talk 

Is it Time for Your Aging Parent to Move to Assisted Living?

If you find that your aging parent displays any of these hidden warning signs of not being able to care for themselves and their living space, then it may be time to consider assisted living. This is especially important to do if you are unable to take-on the challenge of caregiving for your parent. Everbrook Senior Living offers support from compassionate care counselors who can in help you decide about assisted living care that meets your parent’s unique needs. We provide the resources and options necessary for making an informed and affordable choice. Not only do our state-of-the-art, luxury residences provide medical attention your loved one may made need, they will also have access to a full complement of recreational, social, emotional, and cultural activities to support their well-being in their Golden Years.

Navigating the variety of options for care for an older adult family member can quickly become confusing. Many different names are used to describe the various types of older adult care facilities. In reality, there are just two primary types of elder care: nursing home and assisted living community. Understanding the differences between nursing home and assisted living can make the process of choosing elder care less stressful and more reassuring for all involved.

Elder Care Defined: Nursing Home vs. Assisted Living

A nursing home, also known as a skilled nursing facility (SNF), is permitted to provide extensive nursing and medical, under the supervision of a practicing physician. Nursing homes are equipped to perform near-constant monitoring of individuals who require extensive care due to physical disability, cognitive impairment, and/or unstable chronic health conditions. Depending on the degree of severity and prognosis for recovery, a person’s length of stay at a nursing home can be a short-term (several weeks) or long-term (months or years). For the latter, the nursing home may be referred to as a long-term care (LTC) facility.

Another important distinction is that a nursing home is a custodial arrangement in which the medical staff are the custodians of care for the older adult. In a custodial arrangement, the room to which your loved one is assigned is not their private dwelling. Because nursing homes follow a medical model of custodial care, medical staff and other personnel may enter the room at any time. 

Nursing homes provide meals according to medical needs. They may have visitation hours similar to a hospital. Limited social and recreational programs, if any, are provided at a nursing home.

An assisted living community (facility or center) is a term used for a category of elder care known as Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC). Other terms used for CCRC include senior living community and life care communities. These communities are licensed to offer different levels of healthcare and wellness care to support the needs of older adults as their needs change over time, including their physical, medical, social and emotional, and spiritual needs. 

Assisted living centers do not employ a custodial arrangement. Rather, the older adult’s dwelling (usually an apartment style set-up) is considered a private residence. Also, assisted living communities embrace a social model, with a focus on preserving well-being and maintaining the older adult’s independence. Assisted living communities uphold a resident’s right to personal privacy, autonomy, and dignity while promoting community and family involvement.

As part of a CCRC, assisted living may be a step within a senior living community that offers a transitional living pathway based on needs. As such, an older adult enters the community as an active and independent resident who needs minimal assistance, but should their health decline in a way that prevents truly independent living, the community provides a transition to stepped-up care. This can include receiving help with daily living activities, physical rehabilitation and adaptations in their same living space—or transitioning to more medically intensive long-term care services such as Memory Care or skilled nursing (with appropriate permits as required by law).

What Type of Care Does a Nursing Home Provide?

Nursing homes, also called skilled nursing facilities (SNF), focus on healthcare and personal care for residents. Primarily, though, nursing home services focus on medical care including:

• nursing care
• 24-hour medical supervision
• basic assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) (ex: personal hygiene, toileting, dressing, cleanliness of living space and others)
• physical rehabilitation such as post-surgery
• speech therapy
• social-emotional therapeutic services.

Some older adults will stay at a nursing home for a short time after being in the hospital. After they recover, they go home. However, most nursing home residents live there permanently because they have ongoing physical or mental conditions that require constant care and supervision.

What Type of Care Does Assisted Living Provide?

Assisted living facilities can be transformative environments for aging adults. With a focus on wellbeing, supporting independence, and expanding social engagement, older adults residing in assisted living communities can forge new friendships with people their age, discover new hobbies, become more active, preserve cognitive function, and enjoy amenities that would be harder for them to access if they remained in a traditional home or in the care of a family member. 

All residents who reside within an assisted living community are considered independent to the extent that they are capable of participating in or at least partially maintaining their basic daily activity needs within their private living quarters. The extent of assistance needed is a determining factor in cost to reside at an assisted living community. 

Other daily services that assisted living provides – if and when needed by a resident can include:

• Meals provided and/or restaurants on site
• Recreational areas indoors and out
• Entertainment and enrichment programs
• Concierge services
• Shared common areas for activities
• 24-hour medical staff accessible to all residents regardless of level of independence
• Personal hygiene assistance (dressing, bathing)
• Medication reminders
• Housekeeping
• Laundry 
• Transportation 
• Security 

As an assisted living “continuum of care” community, Everbrook Senior Living offers a wide variety of services, amenities, and living options to help older adult residents remain independent and thriving for as long as possible.

To sum it all up, nursing homes focus on medical care—from short-term rehab to long-term ongoing medical care. Assisted living is focused on supporting the wellness needs of older adult residents for the duration of their “golden years”.

Does My Elderly Family Member Need Nursing Home Care or Assisted Living?

Deciding if an elderly family member is better served by nursing home care or assisted living is a complex process. Foremost, this decision will be determined by your elderly family member’s medical needs and the extent to which you can provide what they need for the person to remain at home. Other factors will include the extent of their physical or cognitive impairment, medication management, and prognosis. You’ll also want to consider if their condition is likely to worsen over time, which means the care they need now will change in months or years. 

Even an older adult who is mostly independent in their self-care, today, will encounter times when their healthcare needs become too extensive for living on their own, even within an assisted living community. This is why you want to choose an older adult community like Everbrook Senior Living, which provides transitional care to support your loved one as their health and wellbeing changes over time. It is much less stressful and easier for an older adult to adapt to changes in continuum of care when it is provided within the same residential setting than to have to move from one facility to another as level of care changes.

Resources

CT Assisted Living Association Resource Guide
https://everbrookseniorliving.com/images/forms/CALA-Consumer-Guide.pdf

Everbrook’s FAQs (again they reference CT in many of these responses so not sure about other states)

https://everbrookseniorliving.com/resources/frequently-asked-questions

Assited Living at Everbrook Communities

Assited Living v. Nursing Home: How do they Differ? https://www.healthline.com/health/assisted-living-vs-nursing-home

Residential Facilities, Assisted Living, and Nursing Homes https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/residential-facilities-assisted-living-and-nursing-homes

Helpful Guidance for Managing Older Adult Long-Term Care

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

800-633-4227

877-486-2048 (TTY)

Eldercare Locator

800-677-1116

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

USAging

202-872-0888

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

You can also call your local Area Agency on Aging or Department of Human Services.

Posted in the senior resource series by Everbrook Senior Living 

VA Aid & Attendance, “A&A”, is a monthly long-term care benefit available to low-income veterans age 65 or older or disabled if younger (and/or surviving spouses as that term is further defined by VA rules) who served active duty for at least 90 days during a period of war, having been discharged other than dishonorably and who show a need for assistance or supervision with activities of daily living due to physical disability, cognitive impairment or both. Once an applicant is medically and financially qualified, he or she receives a monthly check. A&A has long been an important means to fund assisted living. The Maximum Annual Pension rate, MAPR, available to eligible veterans or spouses is*: 

2019 Basic A&A Maximum Annual Pension Rate

Veteran with no dependents: $22,577

Veteran with spouse: $26,765

Surviving Spouse: $14,529

*Dependent children are also part of the calculation but not discussed here.

Recently, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA), has amended regulations governing financial eligibility for A&A, imposing for example a bright-line net-worth requirement as well as spend-down penalties for veterans who transfer assets for less than fair market value looking-back 3-years from date of application. Critics of the rule revamp warn that many needy veterans will be denied benefits and while technically accurate, the tightening of financial means testing will reduce the numbers of veterans who becomes eligible for the VA long-term care benefits but overall will help more middle-class veterans who are receiving long-term services become eligible for A&A benefits.