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Originally Posted On: https://dimensionsliving.com/how-to-choose-assisted-living-communities-everything-you-need-to-know/https://dimensionsliving.com/how-to-choose-assisted-living-communities-everything-you-need-to-know/
How to Choose Assisted Living Communities: Everything You Need to Know
Finding the right facility for a senior loved one to move to requires knowing your options. Here is a guide on how to choose assisted living communities.
In the United States, people spend more than $33 billion on the assisted living facility industry every year. More than 500,000 people work at more than 20,000 of these facilities around the country to help people who cannot live alone.
With so many different options out there, how can you know how to choose assisted living communities successfully? The tips in this article will help you consider a variety of assisted living community options and narrow your choices down to the best option for your situation.
Read on to learn all about the most vital steps to take when you are choosing an assisted living community!
Know What You Are Looking For
Before you start researching specific communities, take the time to reflect and think about what you would hope to find in an ideal assisted living community. Consider writing down the qualities that your dream community would have.
As you do so, it can be helpful to label which of your preferences are essential and which are more flexible. This is one of the most effective ways you can shorten your assisted living community selection process. When you know what your deal breakers are, you do not have to waste time investigating options that don’t have what you need.
On top of that, you might end up with multiple candidates that provide all of your essential needs. At that point, knowing about some of your flexible preferences can help you choose between your viable options.
Learn About Activities for Seniors
In some cases, you might not know what you want from an assisted living community until you see some of your options. Consider making a quick pass through the activities that different assisted living communities offer. As you get a better sense of your possibilities, you can add new items to your list as seems appropriate to you.
Consider Communities With Memory Care
Although everyone has different preferences, you might want to consider prioritizing finding a community that offers memory care services. When someone is struggling with memory problems, it can interfere with their ability to enjoy the activities and amenities a community offers.
Communities that provide memory care services understand the challenges associated with memory loss and offer activities that do not require perfect recall. Memory care services are available in various locations, including Appleton and Stevens Point in Wisconsin, as well as Burr Ridge and Prospect Heights in Illinois.
Consider Several Options for Senior Communities
Once you have your list of preferences ready, start making a list of assisted living community candidates. Keep in mind that the tips in this article will help you narrow your list of candidates quickly. That means that you can make your list as long as you like without worrying that it will extend your selection process.
In fact, it might be a good idea to look at as many viable candidates as you can. The fewer candidates you consider, the higher the probability that the best community for your situation will never even make it on your list for proper consideration.
One easy way to find assisted living community options is by using a search engine. However, search engines will not understand the fine points of what you are looking for. You might be able to add better candidates to your list by speaking with people you know.
Ask for Advice From People You Trust
Do you know anyone who is familiar with assisted living communities? They might be a gold mine of information. Consider reaching out to them and walking them through your selection process so far.
Once they understand what you are looking for, ask them if they have any advice about how you can find the right community for you. As you are doing so, you might also ask them about how you can avoid choosing the wrong community. This can help you take some of the candidates off your list and shorten the selection process.
Spend Time Reading Online Reviews
Once you have finished making your list of candidates, it is time to narrow them. The slow way to do this is by investigating each option in detail one at a time. However, it is much faster to start by looking at the overall ratings for each community.
The lower the ratings a community has, the lower the chance it is a good choice for you. Consider removing all candidates from your list that score below a certain rating you choose.
After removing some communities from your list, you can then proceed to review your remaining options and read a few reviews for each community. While doing so, take note of any communities that stand out as top candidates for you.
Once you have made a first pass through your list, go back and look at your top candidates. Reading several more reviews for your top candidates can help you identify your first, second, and third choices.
If your first choice does not work out, you will already have some backup options ready for consideration.
Meet Assisted Living Community Staff Members
Before you make a final decision, make a point of meeting community staff members. If you do not get along with the staff members in one community, you might want to look at one of your backup plans.
Understand the Best Ways to Choose Assisted Living Communities
We hope the principles in this article will help you choose assisted living communities that provide what you are looking for. Finding the right community for your situation will have an enormous impact on your quality of life. It is worth doing your due diligence and taking your time to make sure that you choose the right community.
To learn more about how to find the best assisted living community for your situation, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!
