A Great Way to Help Soothe Mom During This Transition to Assisted Living

June 24, 2021 by ·

There may be a certain level of guilt you feel at this moment, having encouraged your mother to move from her house into a facility. While assisted living is one of the best alternatives for elderly men and women who may be slowing down physically, dealing with chronic health issues, or facing other challenges, a lot of people have the wrong idea about it.

Just understand, you made the right call. And, if we are being honest, you can’t force your mother to make this move, right? You may have encouraged her. She may have debated you about it, but ultimately it was her decision.

This is the way it is with most aging seniors today. They have independence and autonomy to make decisions for themselves. Just because adult children, a spouse, friends, and other families may encourage them to do something because they worry about safety or other issues, it is still their decision.

But how can you help your mother feel better about this transition?

Assisted Living Pascagoula, AL: Transitioning to Assisted Living

Transitioning in life can be difficult at any stage. Whether you are young child, teenager, young adult, middle-aged person starting over after divorce, or an aging senior moving from the home you’ve lived in for years into a new facility, transition can be difficult.

The transition issue has nothing to do with where your mother is moving. It simply has to do with change. Inherently, most people don’t like change. They’re not used to it. They aren’t comfortable with it.

Change is inevitable. It happens all the time.

One of the most effective ways to help people go through difficult changes in life is not just to be emotionally supportive, but to listen.

How do you ‘listen’ in a situation like this?

Let your mother talk. She probably has doubts, fears, anxieties, worries, trepidations, and so forth. Listen to what she has to say. Don’t try to solve all her problems.

Most importantly, don’t be dismissive of those issues. You don’t have to agree with them. You don’t have to call them. But just listen to them.

Most of the time, people want somebody to listen to them. To hear them. To know that somebody is hearing their thoughts, their plea, their doubts, their fear. When your mother is able to express those concerns, doubts, and fears, and knows that you listen to her, it will make this transition a little bit easier for her to bear.

Then, once she moves in and realizes what assisted living truly offers, she will be thrilled to have made this choice.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Assisted Living in Pascagoula, 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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