Helping a loved one choose a senior living community can be a complicated and emotionally trying experience. Several options are available, and deciding which one is best isn’t always an easy feat. There are numerous factors to consider, and each one will have a significant impact on your loved one’s health and happiness moving forward.
If your loved one is living with dementia, not just any retirement community will suffice. Options like independent and assisted living may not give your loved one the level of care they need. Instead, a memory care community will be a more suitable choice. These communities offer the specialized skilled nursing services needed to meet the distinct needs of dementia sufferers. Still, there are numerous options to choose from in this category alone. Keeping the following points in mind will help you choose the right community for your loved one.
Structured Routines Are Crucial
For one, it’s important to choose a community that creates structured routines for its residents. Routine is crucial for dementia sufferers. It helps them feel more comfortable and eases confusion and agitation. It gives them stability and emotional security. In a sense, it gives them a sense of peace in the midst of cognitive decline, memory loss, and other symptoms they have no control over.
Monitoring and Assistance With Activities of Daily Living
Additionally, your loved one is going to need increasing levels of help with the activities of daily living as the condition progresses. Those include bathing, grooming, dressing, cooking, and eating to list a few. In time, they may start to wander as well, especially late in the evenings and at night. The community you choose for them should have a low staff-to-resident ratio to ensure they get the monitoring and assistance they need to stay safe and healthy. In communities with high staff-to-resident ratios, residents’ needs often go unmet, and the risks of falls and other issues are higher.
Enrichment Activities Are Essential
Enrichment activities are also essential for dementia sufferers. They help keep the brain active and can slow memory loss and cognitive decline. They can also aid in maintaining your loved one’s emotional and mental well-being. They give dementia sufferers a sense of accomplishment and can be part of a structured, meaningful routine. They also help fulfill dementia suffers’ needs for socialization. With all that being the case, choosing a community that offers those activities could be a helpful way to foster your loved one’s overall health.
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Nutrition Is Important
Nutrition is also important. It’s essential for everyone, but it can be particularly helpful for slowing dementia’s progress and keeping sufferers healthy. In many cases, dementia patients suffer from inadequate nutrition, which can worsen their symptoms and lead to numerous additional health issues. As such, be sure to choose a community that caters to the unique dietary needs of those who are living with dementia.
You’re Not Alone
Finally, remember that you’re not alone. More than 7 million people in America are currently suffering from dementia, and that number is expected to surge in the years to come. Though you may want to cater to all your loved one’s needs yourself, those needs can quickly become overwhelming. You can’t do it alone, and no one expects you to.
Finding the Right Memory Care Community for Your Loved One
Dementia takes a toll on its victims as well as their families. Memory care communities offer the specialized care and attention dementia sufferers need to stay healthy and happy for as long as possible. Keep the points mentioned here in mind to help you find a community that’s capable of meeting all your loved one’s needs. That community will foster their physical, mental, and emotional health as the condition progresses.
