What to Look for When Choosing an Assisted Living Community
When the time comes to move yourself or your aging loved one into an assisted living community, it can be difficult to know how to choose the best community. The options can seem infinite and overwhelming, especially if you’re dealing with time or financial constraints.
How do you know if you’re making the right choice? Which community will truly provide you or your loved one with quality and compassionate care? What if you spend your savings on a community offering a less-than-ideal resident experience? If you or your loved one have ever asked these questions and more, we’re here to help make this process easier to navigate. In this article, we’ll share five key areas seniors and their families should closely examine when choosing an assisted living community.
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- Cost and Investment
- Safety and Cleanliness
- Levels of Care
- Staff Training and Work Environment
- Services and Amenities
For most families, the cost of senior living is among the top considerations— if not the number one — when choosing an assisted living community. Committing to an assisted living community is a worthwhile investment. Still, it doesn’t matter how appealing the offerings are if your loved one is not able to manage the cost for a reasonable and beneficial length of stay.
Sit down with experts who can partner with you to identify the best way to finance a senior living move. Explore the insurance options available, resources and benefits you’re eligible for, and any specific costs or fees you can expect from each senior living community. Be cautious of newly built facilities that offer lower rental rates upfront and increase costs shortly after.
Don’t be afraid to dig deep and search for hidden costs, so there are no unpleasant surprises later. Good questions to ask may include:
- What services are included in the monthly rental rate? Are utilities included?
- What happens if the resident is hospitalized?
- What does the pricing structure look like? Is it all-inclusive? What options are available or offered à la carte?
- As a resident's care needs increase, how should they budget for any increases in cost? How are higher-level care needs managed and billed in an assisted living or memory care community?
Safety is another key consideration when selecting an assisted living community. After all, you want to be sure that you or your loved one is in good hands while choosing a new home. Ask about the community’s health and safety protocols for situations like falls, wandering, infection control, natural disasters, or emergencies.
Get in touch with your state health department or social services office to confirm that the community you’re considering is licensed to operate and has passed inspections without receiving violations, citations, or complaints. This information should be publicly available and easily accessible.
In addition to investigating a community’s safety, be sure to check its cleanliness as well. Schedule an in-person tour for any assisted living community you are seriously considering, so you can see for yourself whether it meets your standards. A quality facility should prioritize resident safety, health, and well-being above all else.
When deciding on an assisted living community, it’s essential to determine whether you are looking for a stand-alone facility or a continuum of care. Each option comes with its own distinct benefits.
Continuum of care facilities (sometimes referred to as Continuing Care Retirement Communities or CCRCs) offer a comprehensive range of services, enabling seniors to age in place as their needs change and evolve. This model can help reduce the stress of frequent moves and potentially provide greater peace of mind.
Despite the benefits of CCRCs, they often require a higher upfront expense than a stand-alone assisted living community, making the latter a more accessible option for families concerned about their finances. Stand-alone facilities can also offer a wealth of services and amenities, offering different levels of assistance across a continuum of different communities.
Regardless of whether you choose a CCRC or a traditional community, be sure to ask about the available supportive care services, so you can ensure they match the current (and future) needs of your senior loved one.
When touring an assisted living community, pay close attention to the staff members who work there. Are they friendly and welcoming? Do they seem stressed, unhappy, or overworked? What’s the staff-to-resident ratio? When you move into an assisted living community, you are entrusting the staff with your health and quality of life. Employees who are treated well and care about their work will create an exceptional resident and family experience. They can also be relied upon to provide you and your loved one with the high-quality care they deserve.
Ask about the staff tenure and turnover rate, as well as the experience and training required or provided, especially for caregivers. Notice whether these staff members address residents by their names and how they interact with them. Take note of their body language and other non-verbal cues and pay attention to your gut if something feels “off.”
- Services and Amenities
Last, but certainly not least, consider what services and amenities are offered by the assisted living community that you’re considering. Ask about the services that are included in the monthly rent and those that incur an extra cost. Many communities offer a wide range of services and amenities, including:
- Housekeeping
- Maintenance services
- Laundry services
- Meals and dining options
- Transportation and parking options
- Fitness & wellness centers
- On-site salon, barbershop, or spa
- Concierge services
- Frequent activities and outings
- On-site libraries and lounges
- And more!
When visiting a community for a tour, take the time to enjoy a meal and get a sense of what day-to-day life might be like. If your loved one has a furry friend they can’t bear to part with, check what restrictions, if any, the community has on pets. Don’t be shy about shopping around until you find the best fit to meet your family’s needs.
Selecting a Community
Selecting an assisted living community isn’t just about starting a new chapter of life; it’s about finding a place where you or your loved one can feel at home. The same planning, care, and attention invested in buying your first house should also be applied when searching for the right community. It should be a home that supports your independence, health, safety, and comfort — all within your financial means.
To learn more about how to choose the best assisted living community and whether assisted living is right for you, contact a Stoney Brook senior living expert today. Experience the Stoney Brook difference and the many benefits of relationship-centered living! Subscribe to our blog for valuable free resources. Schedule a tour at any of our Central Texas assisted living and memory care communities and see why our residents choose Stoney Brook as their home.