Starting the Journey
How do You Begin the Process of Moving a Loved One into Memory Care?
Making the decision to move your parent to assisted living or memory care—is never easy. The process can be overwhelming, with myriad factors to consider: location, amenities, costs, and more. You want to feel good about your choices, knowing above all that you or your loved one will be safe, well cared for and happy. How do you begin this journey?
What is Most Important to You in a Memory Care Community?
First and foremost, you must decide that a move to assisted living or memory care is the right move, at the right time. This is often a family decision, resulting from honest conversations with each other as well as trusted advisors. Once the decision is made, you can develop a list of criteria that are meaningful to you. For instance, if you’re placing a parent, how close to your home is close enough? What are the costs, and what are the options for payment? Are there payment options you haven’t considered? What special care or services are required?
Once you have developed your key criteria, you can begin identifying communities that appear to meet your needs. You can find them by asking trusted friends, driving your targeted neighborhood, searching online and visiting websites that list senior living communities near you, like Caring.com and APlaceforMom.com. Most of these sites provide a plethora of information, as well as helpful reviews by residents and family members.
Personal Visits Are a Must
Finally, you will want to schedule personal visits and tours to evaluate the communities on your short list at a deeper level. When you do, consider: How does each community look? How do the residents appear, and what are they doing? Are they engaging with others? What is your impression of the staff? You will undoubtedly get a feeling for each community. What is that feeling? Can you envision yourself there, or visiting your loved one?
Within this website, you’ll find some useful tools to help you through the process of finding a community where you or your loved one can feel comfortable, safe and happy. We are also happy to schedule a meeting with you to answer your questions and provide additional information.