Planning for Senior Living

Review your parent(s) physical and mental health, medications, dailyroutine, the safety of their home/neighborhood friends and support system, appearance and hygiene, finances and personal interests, you will be prepared to make a plan to meet the challenges and other needs that may develop. Make a checklist to help you assess your loved one's life as mentioned above. Take notice of any diseases diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, dental problems.

Also check their balance problems, fatigue or sleeplessness, vision or hearing problems, or other types of pain. Observe signs of depression, dementia, mood swings. Find out their physicans who treat them for their various health issues.

Research, investigate and get it in writing or meet in person! 

Areas to investigate include: Checking the licensing current and past, financial records and inspection reports of any facility and obtain references. Look for signs of the quality of care, including interaction between patients and staff and each other. Inspect the safety aspects of the facility and ask forcurrent residents families references. Qualification of staff and medical personnel. Check out thoroughly the rules and regulations and policies of any community or facility.

Be sure all legal documents are up-to-date and readily available, if necessary. To answer questions about the reputation of a facility or SR community, contact the state licensing agency (using the state name plus licensing for example) and check with the local Agency on Aging as well. 

Another resource is to find a good Senior Housing Locator who knows the senior industry well. They can do the legwork and research saving you lots of time and money, especiallyif not living in the same area as your loved one(s).

If You Are The Caregiver Time is Required (meaning less time for family and children or you):

Balancing a job and caregiving responsibilities (calling doctors, trips to the medicals or other scheduled appts; which means you may have to arrange to leave work early, taking time off, etc. Out-of-pocket costs to the Caregiver can add up to as much as $5,500 per year to the Caregiver (food, transportation, travel time, medical insurance co-payments and medication) ifone is responsible for their love one(s) aging process.

The above information is called Planning On Your Part Before an emergency! It is wonderful if siblings can share in the planning and caregiving. It is a Team Effort!

This article is brought to you by Brenda Dever-Armstrong CEO/Owner, The Next Horizon Senior Military Locator / Resources (serving the state of Texas) is dedicated in providing a unique one-on-one FREE evaluation for seniors and/or their families needs including independent and assisted living options, Alzheimer's and respite, personal care homes, nursing homes, home health and caregiver agencies throughout the state of Texas.