Helping Your Loved One Settle Into An Assisted Living Facility
Posted on: 19 February 2015
Moving into an assisted living facility can be a huge change for anyone. Most people who enter assisted living are elderly, disabled, or both. It can be especially difficult for someone to transition into a new lifestyle when they have already spent many decades in the old one. Assisted living facilities are there to give your loved one the physical and emotional help they need as they age. While this does require relocation, it doesn't mean that the new environment has to be an alien one. Below, you can read the top tips for making assisted living facilities into a true home.
Making Them at Home
One thing that will very quickly turn an impersonal room into a homey one is photos and mementos. Gather the most meaningful family photos and have them framed. Consider buying a shadow box in which you can display physical mementos as well as photographs.
You may also want to buy a cork bulletin board where you can post photos or mementos for your loved one. The cork bulletin board can also be a good area to post a calendar and reminders about upcoming activities. All of these things help your loved one feel more at home. If they can look up and see something very familiar, they will feel your love and have a sense of home immediately.
Familiar Furniture
It may not make sense to haul every last piece of furniture from your loved one's home into their new digs at the assisted living facility, but compromises are easy to fashion. Which pieces of furniture does your loved one spend the most time on? Do they have a favorite recliner, for example? If at all possible, bring at least one or two pieces of their favorite furniture to the new assisted living facility. This gives your loved one a sense of continuity between their old life and new one, and it allows them to access that same feeling of comfort whenever they use the furniture.
Staying in Touch
Staying in touch with friends and family is an important part of settling in at an assisted living facility. Make this as easy as possible by providing your loved one with a cell phone that is simple to use. Be sure that they have constant access to the phone by placing it on a bedside table or in another place they will always be able to see it.
If your loved one is a memory care patient who suffers from Alzheimer's or another type of dementia, you may need to consider having a landline phone installed in their room. People who suffer from dementia may not remember how to operate a cell phone, but long term memory may be better and they might recall how to use a landline. Feeling that there is a constant line of communication with loved ones can help bridge the gap between the old life and the new one, so arranging regular phone contact is definitely essential.
A top notch assisted living facility wants to enhance your loved one's life rather than make it harder. If you want to find the type of assisted living facility that focuses on being a home away from home, consider contacting a local facility like Courtyard at Jamestown today!
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