If you have been caring for an elderly loved one, there is going to come a time, if it hasn’t come already, where you will need to consider long-term skilled nursing care homes for them to settle into. You can’t expect yourself to be able to care for them constantly for the rest of their lives. That will only put a strain on the relationship and you won’t be able to enjoy your last years together. A good long-term skilled nursing care facility will have some great options for your loved one. You don’t have to feel like you are shipping off your loved one to be taken care of by strangers. In fact, your parent or relative will probably end up liking the senior living community more than being at home with you. There are many assisted living options that you can look in to but over all, here are some of the things that all senior living options should offer.
Nutrition Plans
One of the main reasons you might be considering long-term skilled nursing care for your loved one is because of their eating habits. If you go to their home in the afternoon to find that they haven’t eaten all day and have no food in their refrigerator, it might be time to consider a nursing home. One of the great things about nursing homes is that they understand how important it is for the residents to be eating properly. Some of the really great assisted living facilities will have personalized eating plans based on the individual needs of the residents. When you get your loved one settled in to the home, you will likely have to provide medical documentation for their doctor that states how they should be eating. This will help the home decide what kinds of meals your loved one should be eating.
Physical Activities
It’s important for elderly people to stay active. They don’t have to do high impact sports but going for walks or partaking in low impact activities will help to give their joints limber and bones healthy. Along with the opportunity for light physical activity, there should be plenty of help for them during those activities. It’s too easy for an elderly person to fall and as their bones are more brittle as they age, they could sustain a very serious injury. There should be staff available to help each resident as they do their physical activity. It should be encouraged every day.
Independent Options
While assisted living means that your loved one needs to be taken care of and helped out, there should still be opportunity for them to continue being as independent as they wish. Of course, there also needs to be a balance with this as some residents may insist on doing day to day activities that they no longer are capable of. However, the facility and the rooms should be set up in such a way that the residents are able to still be as independent as they can be when it comes to dressing, getting in and out of bed and showering and various activities like this.
Social Gatherings
A great thing that most nursing homes will offer, is the chance to meet the other residents and socialize. It’s very important that your loved one spend time with people that are going through the same kinds of things that they are. While they love you and want to spend time with you as well, it’s helpful for them to know that they are alone in the struggles that they are facing as they get older. It’s probably very difficult for them to move into a nursing home and come to the realization that they are getting older. Your young demeanor doesn’t help. But what does help is the other people of similar ages that are all around them.
Open Visiting Hours
A long-term skilled nursing care home should have is opening visiting hours. Of course, this is within reason. You don’t want to show up at two o’clock in the morning when your loved one should really be sleeping. But, you don’t want the home’s visiting hours to end when you are just able to come and spend time with your loved one.
