Travel Tips for the Senior Staying at Assisted Living and Planning to Visit Family for the Holidays

December 28, 2022 by ·

An aging senior who has chosen assisted living for their home has made a great decision. Of all the elder care options, assisted living remains one of the best to consider. That aging senior has every right to decide what he or she does each day, whether they want to participate in activities, stay in their room, go for a walk around the grounds, or simply relax by the fireplace during the winter.

They also the right to visit family when they want. However, travel can be more complicated for a person of advanced years. Especially somebody whose physical abilities have been declining for some time.

Below, we put together a few travel tips that may help the senior in your life stay safer if they’re planning to leave the facility and visit with family for the holidays this year.

 

First, plan ahead.

Assisted Living Chickasaw, AL: Seniors and Travel Tips

Assisted Living Chickasaw, AL: Seniors and Travel Tips

Make as many plans as early as possible for this aging person planning to travel. That means booking airfare, determining how he or she will get to the airport and back safely, contacting the airline if the senior will need special accommodations or assistance getting through the terminals, and so forth.

Also find out what the facility will require, if anything. The staff should be aware of plans for an elderly resident who will be leaving for at least one overnight. The last thing you want is for staff members to spend hours looking for somebody who is off-campus for an extended length of time.

You should also ask the administrators what you’ll need to know to best support this aging senior. Even if you were caring for him or her for months or even years, things may be different now. They may need different support or more assistance getting out of the car, and so forth.

 

Second, anticipate anxiety when the senior leaves.

The longer this aging person has been in the assisted living facility, the more comfortable they’ve become there. That means when they travel, anxiety might be a real issue.

It doesn’t matter whether he or she was an excellent traveler in their younger years; things can be different now. Their physical abilities are different. Their expectations are different. Don’t just assume that the way things were before will be the same as they are now.

 

Third, be aware of what extra help he or she will need now.

Maybe you haven’t visited with your elderly mother or father for a few months. Maybe it’s been a year or more because you live on the opposite side of the country. How much have things changed for their ability to get around?

Do they need help getting out of bed? What about stepping into or out of the shower? Do they have any trouble going to the bathroom by themselves?

You can find this information out from that senior, but you can also speak to the staff and administrators at the facility, which is why planning ahead and good communication with the facility is so important to a safe holiday travel season for aging seniors at assisted living.

If you or an aging loved one are considering a move to an Assisted Living facility near Chickasaw, 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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