We all may be faced with assisted living at some point.  It may be us or a loved one That requires assisted living. What do you do when that day comes?  What you should do is get some information about it before you need it. I know there are all kinds of things that happen to us or our loved ones that are sudden and out of our control.  But there are instances where you may have a little time to do some research.

The more information you have the better off you are. One of the first things I would do is look for a facility that is close to family and friends.  Family visits can be very important to the person in the facility.  The more visits from family and friends the less isolating it is.  A sense of belonging is very important.  Make sure you can get phone calls or maybe emails to someone who may be in an assisted living facility.  My thought is the more communication to that person the better they will feel.

Assisted living is different than nursing home care or a senior retirement community.
In the case of a assisted living environment, the person usually needs help with day to day living.  Things such as taking a bath, getting dressed, and eating. This doesn’t cover personal or medical  care.  If those services are needed they must be provided from outside the assisted living facility.

Some Key points:
How much freedom and independence  will I have?
Are there different levels of care available?
Who decides the assisted living services or level of services a person will receive?
Is there more than one floor plan to choose from?
What kind of meal service does the assisted living facility provide?

I’d like to take a minute or two to touch on this point, the meals, because of nutrition and perhaps religious practices.  someone may require a kosher or vegetarian diet or someone who needs special foods because of nutritional needs.  Find out if the assisted living facility has a nutrition specialist that comes in and evaluates the person’s diet.

Will I be able to have guests at the assisted living facility?   How may guests may I have at one time?  Is there a specific visiting time or is it open all day and part of the evening?  What are the restrictions?

What happens in case of a natural catastrophe?  Who takes care of the evacuation? What is the plan?  Is there some special insurance to take care of that?  Is there a backup plan?
Ask to see the disaster plan for any facility you are considering?   Who takes care of the relocating if necessary for long term?

Some other questions:
Will the assisted living facility have any transportation for shopping or other activities?
Does the facility ever put on field trips?
Is this assisted living facility  equipped with hand rails and or pull cords?

Questions, Questions and more Questions seem to be the thrust of this article. Why?  Because no one facility has the same services or options.  Each one is different and by asking the right questions you can make better decisions on the choice of a assisted living facility.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Here are a few more questions for your list.

Is parking convenient to your living unit?
Is the parking area well lit?
Is there a security guard or a gated entrance to the assisted living facility?
Is public transportation available?

I wish you well in your search for an assisted living facility!