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Mother’s Day is just a few days away and do you know how your mom is? If you’re planning to spend some time with her this Sunday, please take time to check out how she’s doing. Check things like is her mail piling up, is she having a tough time getting around, is she more forgetful than she used to be? Check her medications to see if they’re being skipped, see if you can peek at her checkbook to ensure it’s not in disarray. Notice her clothes and makeup, is she as “put together” as is normal for her? Is she starting to shuffle when she walks? Are her shoes on the correct feet? Look for any signs that mom is not doing as well as she used to and living alone isn’t the safest for her any longer. Did you ever think the best gift you could give mom is moving her into an assisted living community? Mom would have care available to her when she needed it, and you wouldn’t have to worry about her as much. Assisted living communities all include three meals a day, housekeeping, laundry, utilities, and snacks. Transportation to doctor’s appointments and shopping is available at most of them with notice. Assisted living communities have common rooms, dining rooms, and most of them have salons, gyms, and lounges. They have activities during the day, so mom will have things to keep her busy. Some of them have garden areas where the residents care for the plants and have butterfly gardens as well. They celebrate the holidays, throw birthday parties, and have parties just for fun. There are so many amenities when you live in an assisted living community. Does this mean mom is “confined” to the community and cannot leave? No. You can take mom out to lunch or shopping if you want. You can even take her away with you for the weekend if you plan to do something like that. Say you wanted to take mom on a week-long vacation with you and your family, no problem, just let the staff know the dates she will be out and you’re all set.  Is there a downside to an assisted living community? Not really, unless you’re limited financially, but we at Assisted Living Made Simple may be able to help find you more money if you qualify. All you must do is make that FREE phone call today and schedule your consultation 386-847-2322. Taking care of mom is one the greatest privileges we have in this life, let’s make sure we do it well and do what’s best for her.

Falling is one of the top reasons seniors go to the hospital, so what if you could take small steps to help prevent a fall before it occurs. What are some of the causes of falls for seniors and what ways can you help to stop a fall from happening? As we age mobility issues like muscle loss, balance problems, and joint stiffness begin to cause us to become susceptible to falls. We don’t want to lose our mobility because that means losing our independence. Once we can no longer walk like we used to, we cannot do anything like we used to. A lot of seniors are confined to a chair, or even worse, a bed. We need to take steps to prevent a fall before one happens to ensure they stay healthy and safe. Are you or someone you love falling more often? Even if you’re falling and not hurting yourself now, it only takes one good fall to seriously injure yourself. Falling could be a cause of mobility issues and they need to be addressed before they worsen. We all fall when we trip or stumble over something, but sometimes we fall because our feet are too slow to keep up, or they get off balance. Falling frequently can be cause for concern and can lead to injuries, and hospitalizations. Maybe you or your senior hasn’t fallen yet, that makes this the perfect time to retrofit your home with handrails, grab bars and non-slip tub mats. We want to prevent a fall before it happens. Use an elevator whenever possible, not the stairs! Stairs can be extra hard for seniors because they require more strength, balance, and energy. Find ways to avoid stairs if possible. If you find there is no way to avoid them, please walk next to your senior to give them a sense of security. Even an escalator can be scary for seniors as they require balance to step onto the escalator and concentration to stand still and to step off. Is your senior having a hard time standing up from the couch or lowering themselves onto the bed? This is an essential movement we use throughout the day; we use it to sit at the dinner table, go to the restroom, watch TV, going to bed, and so much more. If they are struggling with this simple movement, it may be time to speak with their doctor about a mobility device. How is their balance? Are they having dizzy spells? This could be a sign of vertigo, low blood pressure, or a side effect from their medication. Having a proper cane or walker will help with balance issues in seniors. Most importantly, make sure they exercise. I know this can be difficult when dealing with mobility issues, or they are afraid of falling, but regular exercise can help improve their balance and it also increases their overall health.  Exercise doesn’t have to be difficult, think of ways to make it fun! We need to work together to ensure our seniors don’t fall. Let’s prevent that hip from breaking before it has a chance!!!

When you or a loved one needs an assisted living community, do you know how to find the correct community? 95% of people don’t, they know what they want, but they don’t know exactly what they need. When you search on your own, you look at the aesthetics of the community, you don’t look at the “inside” of that community as well. What you see when searching for an assisted living community is what’s on the outside, the big apartments, the nice garden area, the pretty dining room, the beautiful chandeliers, the large, heated swimming pool. What you don’t look for is what kind of care they offer. How long has the nursing staff been there? Do they even have nursing staff? Will I be able to live there forever as I decline? How long has the executive director been there? There are so many factors to take into consideration when searching for an assisted living community and you cannot think of everything. That’s why you need a senior advisor. A senior advisor helps seniors find a place that best suits their needs and wants. This is a very time-consuming process if you don’t know the communities, that’s why it’s best to work with a specialist. Best of all, senior advisors work for FREE! So, what does a senior advisor do? Senior advisors specialize in finding seniors the right place to live where they can age in place. At Assisted Living Made Simple we like to call it the perfect forever home. Senior advisors know the area, the different licenses the communities have and the inside scoop about each place and what it’s really like to live there. An advisor should take the following factors into consideration for each situation: 1. What is the person’s monthly budget? You don’t want them to be over-extended on their monthly payments. 2. What are their payment options? Is it all private pay, do they have long-term care insurance, are they able to receive VA Aid and Attendance? 3. What are their care needs? Do they only need medication management? If so, the price won’t be as much as if they need medication management, dressing and bathing assistance, feeding assistance, etc. 4. Is the location close to family and friends? You want to make sure they are near friends and family to ensure they are visited regularly. If they have visitors regularly, they don’t feel so alone, and it helps them adapt easier. 5. What is your loved one(s) personality? Do they like to socialize? Would they prefer a larger community with more people? Or would they prefer a smaller community with less people? This is another important factor to consider. We don’t want them living somewhere with a lot of other people where they will feel intimidated or out of place. We want them to be comfortable. 6. What kind of lifestyle did they have and what kind do they want to have now? Were they active before leaving their home and would they like to continue to be and are they able to continue to be active? Do they prefer to do things on their own, like reading, puzzles, and watching TV? Are these the things they want to continue to do while at their new home? Once you, your loved one(s) and your advisor take all the above into consideration, your advisor will set up tours of some communities they believe will be the perfect fit for your elder. They will take you on the tours and help you narrow the options down to the top choice. Once you have made your decision, your advisor will set up your move in with the community. He/she will give you information on movers and anything else you may need. Your advisor will be by your side through the entire journey. You do NOT pay a senior advisor out of your pocket. An advisor receives a commission from the community your loved one moves into. Should an advisor ask you for a fee, walk away and look for another advisor!! Also, do NOT sign an exclusivity form with an advisor. An advisor does not have exclusive rights to YOU! As you can see, there are many factors to take into consideration when looking for a senior living community. Please do NOT go this route alone. Assisted Living Made Simple is YOUR senior advisor team! We are here for you, and we will do our due diligence to find you the perfect forever home for you or your loved one(s). Call today for your FREE consultation, 386-847-2322.

Do you care for an elder? Maybe it’s a family member like my situation. I’m caring for my 95-year-old mother who will be 96 in April. Do you ever find yourself losing it? I do. I find myself yelling at her, but then I wonder if I’m really yelling AT her or just yelling because she can’t hear well. Caregiving is HARD!!!! If you find yourself losing it with your loved one, you’re not alone. I find myself losing it a lot more often than I used to. Here at Assisted Living Made Simple, we hold 4 Alzheimer’s/dementia caregiver support groups a month and while my mom doesn’t have Alzheimer’s, she does have bouts with dementia. I know the importance of taking time for yourself, but do I take time for myself? No, I don’t. I work 40 hours a week, go home, get her showered, dressed, fed, and sit with her until she’s ready to go to bed. In the morning, I get her out of bed, fed, dressed and ready for the day, then off to work and it starts all over again. On the weekends, she’s mine all day and night. It’s exhausting. When my husband and I made the decision to move her in with us, everyone said they would be there to help us, but where are they now that we need them? I understand that we are all busy, but come on, we need a break! If you are a caregiver, you know what I mean. I have caregivers for my mother 3 – 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, so my husband has her the rest of the day. Luckily, she doesn’t require a lot of care, she’s still somewhat self-sufficient, but you must be there to make sure she doesn’t fall, and she can’t prepare her own meals or get her own drinks. She cannot shower by herself, and she needs standby assist while dressing; these two things she will only let me handle. My only other option is having a caregiver come in on the weekend too, but that is pricey. And if I only want an hour or two it won’t work; most caregivers won’t come unless it’s 4 hours or more. I know I’m not alone out there; I know you are going through the same things I am. How are you coping with these issues? I’d really love to know; maybe your ideas can help me. Do you have to separate holidays like I do? I have spent many holidays with just my mom and myself because my husband goes to his brothers with his children and our grandchildren, but that is too much for my mom, so it ends up just the two of us. This is so hard because you feel torn between the two. How do you cope with a situation like this? I try to put it out of my mind and think I will have other holidays with the grandkids, and they will be even more special. This past Easter, my husband went to his brothers like usual, but my two nephews and their families came over and it was so nice; my mother was so happy to have her family there. We all ran around outside, while she sat there and watched us. She was so full of joy. After they left, which wasn’t until around 7:00 p.m., I gave mom her shower and got her settled down. I went to take my shower and when I came out, she was in her chair fast asleep; she was exhausted. She got up in the morning and couldn’t stop talking about what a great Easter she had. It really is the little things that make a difference.  If you are dealing with some of the same issues I am, please give me a call and let’s chat. I’d really like to understand how you cope. Maybe we can help each other. 386-847-2322.

You are getting older, and your children are saying you should move into an assisted living community. You don’t think you NEED that, you’re fine in your home. You feel assisted living is for old people and you’re not old, you can still get around fine. You don’t need someone to take care of you; you’re perfectly capable of caring for yourself. Did I take my medication with my breakfast this morning? Did I even eat breakfast this morning? I don’t seem to remember. It’s lunch time and I am not hungry so I must have eaten breakfast, but I have more pills to take at lunch time, don’t I? If you lived in an assisted living community, you would not have these worries. Three square meals a day are included in your monthly rent, so the worry about whether you ate or not isn’t there; you only need to remember to get up and get your meals. Also, medication management is something that can be added to your monthly fee should you need it. This means someone will be there to ensure you take your medications on time daily. Your plumbing is backing up in your house. Did you know that a house call for a plumber is around $150.00? That’s just for a plumber to come out and look at the problem; then you have the repair bill, which can be thousands of dollars. In an assisted living community, if you have a plumbing issue, you call maintenance. You do not shell out a dime, no worries. How about your weekly or monthly lawn service? How much does that run you? Some people pay more than $150 a month for lawn service. You don’t have that expense in an assisted living community either. They provide transportation to and from doctor’s appointments with advanced notice, so you don’t need the expense of your vehicle should you decide to give that up as well. How often are you able to get out and socialize? Probably not too often because you do not like to drive far, or you just plain don’t feel like having to go out somewhere and must drive home, get in the house, get ready for bed; it just seems like a lot. At an assisted living community, you have it all in one place. Most communities have a common area, they provide activities, socials, dances, movies, and so much more. The best part is you don’t have to drive anywhere. When everything is over, you just walk back to your room and get ready for bed. Oh, how nice is that? A lot of communities are age-in-place which means as your health declines you do not have to leave that community, you may just have to move to a different apartment within that community. This is very important for those who don’t do well with change, and we don’t like to move our seniors more than once. Change is hard for people and even harder for our elders.  These are just a few of the benefits of assisted living communities; there are too many to mention. Please do not wait until it’s too long and there is such a thing as too long. Call us today for your FREE consultation, 386-847-2322, to see if assisted living is right for you!