When the time comes to think about having to have mom and dad move out of the home because they can no longer live safely there, you should be aware that the trends in assisted living make these facilities more homelike than ever before. Chances are your parents will want to live in their home as long as they possibly can. Their desire to age-in-place is natural because they don’t want to give up their independence. As their caregivers you can help them with this by making their home “senior friendly” and by giving them access to a home medical monitoring and personal medical device.
If it comes to the point where living in the family home isn’t possible. Here are some options to explore:
- Niche housing. These assisted living communities are more upscale in look than some of the cookie cutter models of the past. These niche housing communities can also cater to the very active senior, specific religions or ethnic groups or even to individuals who prefer certain activities.
- There are retirement communities that cater to the active senior who also wants to keep his or her mind active as well. If that is your mom or dad, look for a community that has an affiliation with a college or university to offer life-long learning programs.
- While not a “commune” there are eco- and environmentally friendly living areas for seniors. These communities cater to those who have always been interested in environmentally friendly lifestyles. At these communities you will likely also find they are energy efficient units, the cleaning products are eco-friendly and without toxins, they may have a community garden.
- Co-sharing a home. If your aging relatives are determined to stay in their own home you could look into a co-share option in which a trained and qualified personal care aid would move into the home to help care for them. This person could provide round the clock care as well as house cleaning and shopping and medical appointment visits and in return he or she gets a salary and free room and board.
- There are options for your aging loved ones in which they could move into an assisted living facility and they take care of all of their own needs while they can. They can have their own vehicles and do their own shopping and cooking. When it comes time that they need more care, they can up the amount of assistance they receive all while not having to move out of the home they’ve come to know and love. This allows them to essentially age in place, but with options to add on additional care when it’s needed.
Talk with mom and dad and the rest of your family before a need arises. You don’t want to have the pressure to make a decision in the heat of the moment.
