Home is Where the Heart is: How to Make Assisted Living Feel Like Home near Theodore, AL

July 8, 2014 by ·

There is a common and old adage that states: home is where the heart is. It can mean a lot of things to many different people, but it generally states that where you live isn’t as important as how you live. You could be just as happy and comfortable in an apartment as you might be in a beach house, if the people and things that you love surround you. This also means that a person can be quite happy and content in an assisted living community.Assisted Living Theodore AL

While many seniors tend to avoid talking about moving into an assisted living facility, it’s often because they have certain ideas about what it means to live in one of these places. They may think of them as prisons or nothing more than fancy nursing homes. They may have ideas about abuses that occur within them, or that they will be ignored and left in their own filth if they have an accident. These myths have virtually no basis in reality among almost every single assisted living facility in America today.

So while your elderly loved one may have been resistant to the idea of moving into one of these places at first, there’s no reason why they can’t be comfortable there now. The key is to help them make it feel like home.

  • Bring personal mementos

While they can’t bring all of their furniture and everything that they had in a home to their assisted living residence, pictures, personal keepsakes, and even some furniture, like their favorite recliner, can be the best way to make their room or rooms feel like home.

Many of these residences are strict on painting, which means that they have to deal with the white walls, but they can hang pictures, have trinkets and other items around the room that remind them of home.

  • Fabrics and materials

Blankets and other fabrics, including curtains, can help make their room feel more like home. The more personal the touches, the more comfortable the room will be when they come home to it.

Hanging pictures that grandkids or great grandkids did onto the refrigerator (if there is one in the room) or along the walls can make them feel more comfortable as well.

Making any room feel more comfortable is about surrounding yourself with items that remind you of family, and your old home. When you have a loved one moving to assisted living, help them make their room feel like home, even if they don’t believe it’s ever going to be comfortable. They’ll likely be surprised.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Assisted Living, contact Ashbury Manor Specialty Care and Assisted Living near Theodore AL, 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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