Three Key Questions to Ask When Touring an Assisted Living Community

November 23, 2022 by ·

When you take a tour of an assisted living community in person or virtually these days, you should have an opportunity to ask questions. After all, asking questions is the best way to get the information that pertains to you or an aging senior most.

Unfortunately, a lot of people just go online, check out some of the amenities, and take a quick virtual tour these days and never ask any questions. How can you possibly know if the assisted living facility is truly right for you or that senior you love unless you begin digging in deep?

Below are three key questions you might want to consider asking to ensure that this is the right elder care choice for you or somebody you love.

 

Key Question #1: Can the senior bring their own personal effects?

Assisted Living Pascagoula, AL: Touring an Assisted Living Community

Assisted Living Pascagoula, AL: Touring an Assisted Living Community

This may seem like a nonstarter, being that every senior should be able to bring some personal effects, but depending on the facility they may be limited on what they can take along with them.

For example, one facility may not allow wall pictures. Yet, an aging senior might have a lot of pictures hanging on the wall of family, trips around the country or the world, and other mementos of a life well lived. What if they can’t hang up pictures on the wall?

How much space will they have for picture frames on a dresser or nightstand? The facility may limit how many personal items an aging resident can have in the room because they want each room to be neat and orderly, especially if they are shared rooms.

Never make assumptions, including about personal effects a senior is allowed to bring with them.

 

Key Question #2: What level of support will staff provide?

If an elderly person has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, a memory care assisted living facility is going to be optimal. A regular assisted living community that doesn’t specialize in memory care might not be suited to support that senior properly, especially as the disease progresses.

Whatever immediate health issue or physical challenge or mental struggle an elderly person is facing should be focused on when selecting the right community.

What you want to gain from this type of question is understanding how much support their staff will offer and whether or not it will be enough or adequate for the needs of the senior. Not every facility is optimal for all seniors.

 

Key Question #3: What activities do residents get the chance to participate in?

This is getting to the heart of the types of activities the facility offers to its residents. Each facility is different so you can’t assume that the activities that may be available at one facility will also be available at all of them.

Find out specifics. Focus in on those activities the elderly person will enjoy. Make sure to include them in the process of searching for this facility. Finding the right one is going to be crucial for a positive experience and high quality of life. It may be farther away and you might not like to travel, but you want what’s best for the senior in these questions can help you find it.

If you or an aging loved one are considering a move to an Assisted Living in Pascagoula, AL, contact Ashbury Manor Specialty Care and Assisted Living at 251-317-3017.

Filed Under: Assisted Living · 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.
Google Verified Author