3 Tips to Help Seniors Prepare for a Move to Assisted Living

September 14, 2016 by ·

Assisted Living in Satsuma AL

It seems to have been a long time in the making. You started trying to convince your mother to consider assisted living more than two years ago, but she was stubborn, according to you and maybe Assisted-Living-in-Satsuma-ALsome other people in your family.

Your mother is an independent individual and, as a result, has every right to determine where she lives and the type of care she receives. She wanted to remain in her own home for as long as possible. She did that. Now, though, with her friends having moved away, passed away, or moved into an assisted living facility, she decided it was time.

September is National Preparedness Month and below are three tips that might just help your mother, and other seniors, prepare for this important move to assisted living.

Moving Tip #1: Start early.

There’s nothing worse than waiting until the last minute to try and pack up possessions, especially when you’ve lived in the same place for decades. If your mother has essentially been in the same house for most of her adult life, she will have boxes upon boxes of items probably stored in the attic or in the basement, furniture she’s never used, and trinkets she bought as gifts she never gave away.

It’s going to take a long time for her to sift through everything and determine who she wants to have what.

Moving Tip #2: Share the move with family/friends.

Your mother should certainly not try to do this by herself. Even if most of her family lives on the other side of the country or elsewhere. If she plans early, she could have an impromptu family reunion where everyone gets together for one week, helps her go through everything, and begins to lay claim to things they want or help her disperse possessions as she sees fit.

Moving Tip #3: Learn to let go of stuff.

Most of us have a tendency to collect stuff over the years. They could be trinkets or mementos, items we thought we absolutely needed at the time, but eventually it all becomes stuff piled in boxes.

If your mother is having difficulty letting go of these things, if she’s considered a hoarder, she may need experienced counseling to help her let go of these things. She’s not going to be able to make this move to assisted living while bringing everything along with her.

When you follow these tips, that move to assisted living will become easier for her and everyone else around her.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Assisted Living near Satsuma, AL, contact Ashbury Manor Specialty Care and Assisted Living at 251-317-3017.

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About Cindy Johnson

Ashbury Manor’s Administrator since 2008, Cindy Johnson is a long-time expert in the assisted living field. Prior to her arrival at Ashbury Manor, Cindy managed acquisitions and crisis management for existing and new larger senior care project developments for eleven years. As regional manager for an Oregon-based assisted living management company, Cindy was directly responsible for operations for five 50-65 bed assisted living facilities. As manager during the transition to new ownership, Cindy reorganized internal operations and conducted leadership training for Executive Directors. As a result of her management and expertise, one of the company’s facilities (in Ocala, Florida) received a deficiency-free survey, resulting in the lifting of a moratorium on operation.

A nurse for 36 years, senior care has always been Cindy’s passion. Desiring to work more closely with residents, Cindy became a Category II Administrator in 2005. As Ashbury Manor’s Administrator, Cindy understands the complexities associated with dementia and cognitive impairment and she has fallen in love with seniors with dementia or cognitive impairment and their families.

Cindy is Treasurer of the local “Senior Coalition” chapter. She enjoys mentoring new candidates who want to become administrators.

As a 16-bed facility, with Cindy's training and experience, our residents and their families can be sure Ashbury Manor’s carefully selected staff provides the expertise of a larger facility while maintaining the individualized personal care of a small special needs home.
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