Having the conversation with a parent to make the move into assisted living can be difficult, but is highly worthwhile to do ahead of time. When it comes to caring for your aging parents, procrastination isn’t the key—these 4 reasons are why you need to plan for senior living now.
Increased Likelihood of Falls or Accidents
According to the National Council on Aging, one in four Americans aged 65+ falls each year. For seniors, one of the biggest threats to safety is the risk of falling, because their quality of life can quickly deteriorate once a fall has happened. While there are measures you can take to prevent the risk of falling for older adults, aging makes daily tasks more challenging and increases the likelihood of an accident.
Waiting until a fall happens and your loved one needs more assistance isn’t a good idea. Consider the move to an assisted living community as a preventative measure, to ensure their continued quality of life and safety.
Difficulty to Provide At-Home Care
As an aging senior stays at home, families may choose to hire in-home care or attempt to care for their needs themselves. However, many soon realize that their investment of time and energy might be more than they can handle and that they’re missing out on precious quality time with their parent to complete mundane, daily tasks.
Professional caregivers from assisted living communities are able to provide compassionate assistance with daily tasks, allowing a senior to spend more quality time with their loved ones.
Experiencing Loneliness
A real threat to the well-being of American seniors is social isolation. Social isolation and feelings of loneliness are shown to increase the risk of long-term illness and higher mortality. Research shows that a lack of social relationships can be as strong of a risk factor for mortality as smoking, obesity, or lack of physical activity!
Assisted living communities provide many opportunities for healthy, group interaction and a chance for seniors to dive into hobbies and activities they love.
Moving is Harder When Less Mobile
Regardless of what stage of life you’re in, moving to a new home takes a toll on your physical and mental energy. Moving when your loved one is still able-bodied and mobile will make the move smoother and the transition to a new community easier.
Many residents and their families recognize in hindsight that it would have been easier on everyone to facilitate the move into assisted care sooner than they did. Having the tools in place to properly handle your parent’s aging can give the whole family peace of mind.
Our senior community at Riley Crossing, offers a wide variety of levels of care from 55+ townhomes to enhanced care. If you’re looking for additional support, or think that your loved one could benefit from our care services, give our compassionate staff a call at (952) 934-7777 to learn more about becoming a part of our family today.
