Three Questions to Ask When Searching for an Assisted Living Community

August 30, 2022 by ·

If you are searching for an assisted living community, for yourself, an aging parent, spouse, or friend, you may not know where to start. Most people have no prior experience with assisted living when they first began the search.

They don’t know what it is, not really. Many people have misconceptions about it and conflate it with other types of elder care. When it comes to elder care, assisted living is one of the best for good reasons.

You just want to make sure you choose the right facility for yours or another person’s needs, preferences, and personality. Not every assisted living community is going to be optimal for every person. For the most part, though, they are wonderful communities that allow aging men and women to feel safe, maintain a high quality of life, make friends, and not have to worry about too many of the unnecessary things we all tend to worry about in daily life. Below are three questions you might want to consider asking when you start your search for an assisted living community.

 

Question #1: What type of support do they offer?

Assisted Living Pascagoula, AL: Searching Assisted Livings

Assisted Living Pascagoula, AL: Searching Assisted Livings

If you or the senior you’re looking for is dealing with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, you’ll want to focus on a memory care facility. Not all assisted living communities will offer memory care options.

As a person grapples with memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s, it’s going to progressively get tougher to deal with. Their memory will fail, confusion will increase, anxiety will ratchet up, and you’ll want a place that has experienced staff members to support them.

Even if you’re not looking for a facility for somebody with Alzheimer’s, just make sure it can accommodate the specific needs — health, physical, or otherwise — that the senior requires.

Ask pointed questions when you speak to an administrator or go on a tour. That’s the best way to get the answers you need to make a reasonable and well-grounded decision.

 

Question #2: What is the dining facility like?

Some assisted living communities may have a cafeteria style eatery while others have a restaurant type of facility. Since much of our life and conversations with people tend to happen around good meals, you want a place that has put time and effort and energy into building a great restaurant style facility.

You’ll also want to make sure the senior is going to get the nutrition he or she needs based on their health, history, and personal requirements.

 

Question #3: Do they offer respite care services?

Does the assisted living facility provide overnight stay options? In other words, could the elderly person be dropped off in the evening, spend the night there, then be picked up in the morning for a few days a week or more?

Does the facility provide the option of staying there for a few days a week, including during the day or even a week or two at a time?

These are questions you’ll want to ask because the answers will help you narrow your choices down to the perfect one for you or the senior you love.

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.
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