8 Considerations When Moving Your Aging Parents To A Retirement Community

It is challenging to think about a retirement community for your parents. The idea still has a stigma attached to it, making it hard for some families to cope.

The most important thing is that you are doing to help them to be comfortable as possible and to help them continue living their life to the fullest. This isn’t always something you can do at home.

Retirement communities exist to care for your parents, ensuring their needs are met. As you make this difficult decision, you must consider many important factors.

1. Do Your Research

You should not rush into a decision about retirement communities for your parents. You might have one in mind. However, you should still head online to look at the available options and get as much feedback as you can.

Talk to friends or family members who have already been through this process with their loved ones and see if they have any recommendations worth considering. Your doctor may also be able to point you in the direction of one that could be a good fit, too.

It’s a good rule of thumb to look for testimonials, and when you visit, try to talk to some of the residents about how they are finding it.

2. Understand Their Medical Needs

Once you have a clearer idea of what your relative has in mind, it’s time to start dealing with some of the factors that are not a matter of personal preference. Your relative’s medical needs may play a big part in the kind of retirement community they can go to.

Talk to your relatives and their doctor about what kind of support they will require. Most retirement communities should cover the basics, but specialized care may mean a specialized home.

3. Look For Independent Living Options

Everyone has different needs when they are moving into a retirement community. Some people are going to need regular medical care, with someone on-hand at all times to ensure they are doing OK. But a lot of residents are going to want something more independent.

A retirement community should be able to provide independent living options for anyone who wants and can live in their own space, but who wants that community feel. At St Anne’s Retirement Community, there are apartments, cottage homes and original-style villas to choose from.

Offering a wide range of different support options including personal care and skilled nursing care, they are dedicated to providing an atmosphere that feels like home.

4. Look For Experience

Experience is crucial. It is a factor that you should be looking for in a retirement community. Elder care is a specialized field, it is not something that people should just walk into. It is also one of the reasons why there is such a high demand for staff.

If you are placing your loved one into someone else’s care, you will want to know that they have the years and the expertise. Now, there is nothing wrong with a brand-new building, but if it does not feel like the staff know what they’re doing, then you should look elsewhere.

5. Think About The Location

This point can sometimes get lost in the shuffle when you find an option that looks perfect, but it is important. Remember that it needs to be accessible to you and your family for when you want to visit, or if there are any emergencies occurring that you need to be present for. Regular visits will mean a lot to your relatives, so factor in journey time when you are looking for a community.

6. Budget Carefully

It always seems a little crass to bring up the question of money when you are talking about your relative’s well-being. However, with so many stories about the cost of healthcare, it is something that must be discussed as a priority. The last thing you want is to find the perfect retirement community for your relatives and get them moved in, only to discover that you can’t afford to keep them there and that you will have to move them.

Any good retirement community will be completely transparent about the costs of its services and will break down its payment structures. Talk to your relative’s insurance provider about whether a retirement community is covered in their plan. If you are not in a stable enough financial position to be confident about paying costs for a long period, be honest with the retirement community. It’s always better to be upfront.

7. Look For A Community

Finally, it’s easy to focus on the “retirement” part of the retirement community, but you should look at what they can provide for their residents in terms of entertainment and spiritual support. Even if your relative considers themselves to be a bit of a loner, having the option of a social life is so important. Look for group activities, both indoors and outdoors, that will help your relative to get out there.

8. Ask Them What They Want

Believe it or not, your parents may have already done some research on this matter Although they have not spoken to you about it before, they may have already planned for this period without you knowing it. As such, they will have very clear ideas about what they would like.

Making the decision to move your parents to a retirement community is never easy. However, this guide gives you some idea of what to look for. Once you have narrowed down your options, it will be much easier to get your parents on board with the idea.