At What Point Do You Consider Memory Care Assisted Living for Mom?

May 3, 2021 by ·

When someone you love is struggling with age, perhaps cognitive decline, such as what one might expect when a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, for example, how can you cope? It’s not always easy figuring out the best way forward, but it’s necessary.

Absolutely necessary.

Which is why you should at least sit down and discuss the prospect of assisted living. In reality, there’s just no time to waste when someone you care about is dealing with the short and long-term impacts of memory challenges.

How can you bring this topic up?

A lot of families simply don’t know how to deal with the topic of assisted living. Adult children, siblings, and even a spouse may reluctantly (at first) realize how beneficial assisted living could be, but they don’t want to talk about it with that elderly loved one.

Why?

Assisted Living Pascagoula, AL: Memory Care Assisted Living

For one thing, many people have the wrong idea about what assisted living is and offers. Too many immediately think about another senior care option instead. The kind of option where the facilities are medically focused, understaffed, and burdened with too many challenges to provide the kind of high quality care and support an assisted living community can.

Don’t misunderstand this, though; not all assisted living facilities are the same. There are exceptional ones and there are those dealing with their own challenges.

However, when it comes to seniors struggling with a host of mental decline issues, memory care assisted living is monumentally important.

The best way to bring up this topic is to be honest. Don’t beat around the bush or sugarcoat things. Talk openly about what you observe, the challenges this elderly family member is facing, the fear, the doubt, the uncertainty the future holds.

First, learn what you can about assisted living.

Before you bring up this important topic, either to your mother, father, grandparent, spouse, sibling, or whoever it is to you, make sure you know what you can about it.

The toughest thing you’ll face are the questions meant to derail the conversation. If you can’t answer them, then it becomes that much tougher to convince someone to at least listen.

When your mother’s memory loss impacts her days, when you are being tasked with supporting her more and more, and you’re feeling the struggle impact your personal life, that’s when you should consider discussing assisted living.

In truth, it’s never too early to talk about memory care assisted living, especially when that family member or friend has been diagnosed with dementia.

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.

Filed Under: Alzheimer’s and Dementia · Tagged: ,
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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