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Keeping My Mom Safe, Happy, and Healthy

3 Features To Look For When Choosing An Assisted-Living Facility For Your Parent

13 April 2017

Lisa Sutton

Looking for an assisted living residence for your parent to move to? Here are a few features to look for when making your final choice:

Community Activities

It's important to make sure that the senior assisted living facility your parent ends up staying at schedules several community activities throughout the week so they have plenty of opportunity to build a social network. Weekly community activities will also ensure that your parent always has a physical and emotional outlet that helps keep them busy and engaged in a supportive setting.

Ask each prospective assisted living facility you consider placing your parent in for a calendar that specifies the weekly community activities throughout the year that your parent can look forward to. You can then sit down with your parent and decide together which facility will likely best meet their needs and expectations as time goes on.

24-Hour Emergency Support

One of the most important features to look for when choosing a senior assisted-living facility for your parent is 24-hour emergency support. While your parent wants to have their own personal living quarters so they can maintain a sense of their independence, there may come a time when a medical emergency arises and they need immediate assistance from within their apartment where a caretaker isn't readily available.

The facility your parent lives in should provide them with a personal emergency communicator of some kind, whether in the form of a call button on the wall near the front door or a wireless device that can be worn around the neck. This way your parent can get the help they need no matter what time of day it is or who happens to be around at the time.

An Open-Door Policy

It is also crucial to ensure that the senior assisted living facility you and your parent choose has an open-door policy that allows you, other family members, and close friends to visit the facility at any time of your choosing without having to make an appointment beforehand. The facility should function more as an apartment community with added support features than a hospital where everyone who comes and goes needs explicit permission from the facility director. You and other people close to your parent should be able to visit, check out the facilities and amenities, and check on overall living conditions with no questions asked by the facility staff as long they're on your parent's visitors list.

Add these features to a list of those you and your parent would like to personally see in the assisted living facility and use the list as a guide when comparing your options.  

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