5 Key Qualities People Look for in Assisted Living Facilities
If you work in an assisted living facility, review these five qualities to determine how well your facility stacks up.
Seeking out a quality assisted living facility for a loved one can be an overwhelming process. Whether the loved one requires additional care for safety or medical reasons, when the time comes, choosing the right facility can be difficult. Figuring out where to even start can be daunting. The more information that can be pulled together will ensure an informed decision. These five elements make up an assisted living checklist that will ease the process of deciding on the right facility to meet the family’s needs. Alternately, if you work in an assisted living facility, it’s equally important to be familiar with these five qualities and how well your facility stacks up.
Starting the Search
These days, nearly everyone turns to the same place when looking for information on an unfamiliar subject: the Internet.
#1: Reputation.
Almost every product or place online has reviews, and assisted living homes are no different. Reputation matters early-on, even before potential residents have had a chance to visit an assisted living home. Websites like Senior Advisor allow residents and their families to review their experiences at facilities throughout the country. It also doesn’t take much digging to find out about any code violations or issues with the state. Good reviews and satisfied residents will ensure future residents consider your facility—your online reputation is more important than your advertising.
#2: Location.
Assisted living homes are physical places, so location matters for a lot of reasons. While many facilities may provide food and medication on-site, some homes that focus on independent living aren’t equipped to do so. Even if food is provided on-site, being close to a favorite restaurant or grocery store allows for visitors to bring in treats and favorites the kitchen staff might not know about. Pharmacies are another option to consider. Can residents easily obtain their prescriptions? And, for those residents in a long-term care situation, having hotels nearby eases the burden of relatives trying to stay rested while sleeping on unfamiliar furniture.
Narrowing the List
#3: Medical Care.
If you’re looking into an assisted living situation, you likely have health care needs that must be met. Be sure any homes you consider have the staff and the resources devoted to handling your needs. Ask staff members your questions directly, or contact the administrative workers at the facility through social media. Discover if their staff is on-call and where their doctors work when not at the facility. Some facilities specialize in certain types of care, which might be just what your loved one needs.
#4: Facilities and Amenities.
A tour of a location also helps narrow down the assisted living facilities choices. Assisted living care is no longer one-size-fits-all. There are many care options to choose from these days, thanks to the expanding market. Residents may live in small apartments rather than communal rooms. There may be spaces for hosting guests and events. Activities and trips offer opportunities for active physical and mental health. Offered amenities can generally increase quality of life and overall happiness and therefore can make a big impact come final decision time.
The Big Decision
#5: Care Staff.
The last piece of the puzzle for many families is how they get along with the staff that will care for their loved one. An overworked staff shows its stress in many ways. When facility staff are overwhelmed, it may be difficult for those individuals to provide the level of care they wish they could provide. Modern facilities often adapt to technology that eases these burdens. Technology also helps keep families up-to-date on the status of residents. Caregivers are a critical part of any assisted living facility operation. They provide that vital bit of spark that ensures a happy resident that chooses to stay in one place over all the other options available.
There are many factors that contribute to choosing the right assisted living facility for a loved one, but five of them stand out at the top of the list. Seek feedback on a facility’s overall reputation. Choose a location that’s convenient – not just for family visits, but also for the proximity to outside resources beyond what the home provides. Be sure all medical needs can be met. Tour the facilities to get a feel for the day-to-day life on-site. Talk to the staff to see if they’ll get along with the resident. Once these pieces of the puzzle are set, completing it becomes a whole lot easier.
Featured image “the gamers” courtesy of Flickr user shira gal licensed under CC by 2.0.
Image “Happy Grandma” courtesy of Flickr user Alex Santos Silva licensed under CC by 2.0.
Next month, we’ll be putting my grandma into an assisted living facility. There would be quite a bit list of places if I did a general search so I need to narrow the list down. I’d for sure want a place that would be able to help her out with her medical needs. You did mention that is one of the things people look for when looking for an assisted living facility.
I think that it is very important how you mentioned that a tour of the facility can help you figure out if it will be the right fit for your loved one. Personally, I believe this principle should be applied to any part of your life and with any product that you plan to purchase. If I ever find myself in a situation where I need to put these tips into action, I will make sure that I come back to this website to refresh my memory.
Thanks for reading! We’re glad you found our content useful. 🙂
I agree with you when you say that location is very important for an assisted living home. My mother has to go stay in an assisted living home soon and we want to visit her often if we can. Having her close by would be wonderful.
Thanks for the advice to check reviews for assisted living homes to make sure they have satisfied residents. I’m helping my husband find a good assisted living facility for his mother, since her health has been declining and she needs additional care. I’m glad I read your article because following your advice should simplify the process of finding an assisted living community that we feel comfortable with!
It is good to know that location should be a major priority when selecting an assisted living center. Knowing that there is a pharmacy near by would be beneficial to ensure that your loved one will be easily able to access their prescriptions. Touring the facility before committing to their service would be a good thing to do to ensure that the premises is sanitary and clean.
I want to make sure that my parents have a nice place to stay. This is a very useful checklist to use when looking at assisted living centers! I’ll make sure that I keep this stuff in mind when I’m looking at different places.
I agree that seeing what kind of amenities an assisted living facility offer is important. I would imagine that you would want to find somewhere that offers the kinds of activities your loved one enjoys. My mother is in need of assisted living so we’ll be sure to tour the facility to check their amenities before we send her somewhere.
This is a great help as I try to help my grandmother find an independent living community. She definitely will need a community that offers medical care. Do you think that is common for senior communities?
Yes, many senior communities have medical facilities available in some capacity. It’s important to do your research to find a place that meets your family’s specific needs – this includes the level of medical care available on-site. Thanks for your comments, we’re glad you found this helpful!
My grandmother is no longer capable of living on her own. Thank you for comforting us with this information about good assisted living centers. It is nice to know that medical help can be provided. We will also have to consider the cost and find something that is within our budget.
My family is thinking that it is about time we consider putting my father into an assisted living facility. We want to make sure that we choose one that he will love. I really like what you said about choosing one that has a good location. I would hate to not be able to visit my father as much as I would like to. I think that the other best thing you mentioned is the medical care. I would be so much more comfortable knowing that he has good medical care. Thanks for the help!