3 Tips To Help Your Senior Adjust To Assisted Living

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Making the decision to put a parent or another senior that you love in a nursing home or assisted living facility is obviously difficult. Things can be made even worse if the senior does not like the idea. When the day finally comes and it's time to move your loved one out of their home and into assisted living, emotions will likely be high. In order to help your senior transition as smoothly as possible, keep these tips in mind.

Create a Familiar Environment

Your mother, father or other loved one is about to leave a house they've likely lived in for years. If you want them to get used to living with assistance, you need to try and make their new residence feel as comfortable as possible. See if you can get permission to bring some of your parent's things to the facility ahead of them and get things set up. Things like a favorite bookshelf, or a closet full of their own clothes can make them feel at least a little more comfortable with the situation. If your parent regularly starts each day with the newspaper, make sure you arrange for a copy to be available each morning.

Combine Regular Visits With Special Deliveries

One of the leading reasons why seniors don't want to move into assisted living is because they are afraid they will be left all alone. Make an effort in the first few weeks to either give your loved one regular visits or call them as much as possible. If you can't make it in person, consider sending an occasional care package. Sometimes even just a note in the mail can be enough to remind them that they are still loved.

Allow Contact With The Outside World Whenever Possible

If your loved one is still in good enough physical shape to make it out and about every once in a while, consider letting them continue their regular routine. For example, they regularly get their haircut on the last Saturday of every month, figure out a way to let them do so. Invite them on a shopping trip with you or let them come to the park with the grandkids. Sometimes just getting out of the facility for a few hours can be enough to make them feel at peace.

Moving a loved one into assisted living can be difficult but if you have a game plan for the transition, you can hopefully keep everyone's emotions in check. Try and make their new room as familiar as possible, be sure to either visit them regularly or send care packages to remind them that you are thinking of them and if possible, let them take an occasional field trip out into the regular world.

For more ideas, talk to a professional like Cokato Charitable Trust - Cokato Manor.

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6 July 2016

Exploring The Assisted Living Facility Options

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