How to Choose an Assisted Living Facility

Assisted Living Community allows older adults to enjoy an independent lifestyle with more support for their daily needs. These communities are not appropriate for older adults needing intensive medical or nursing care.

In an assisted living facility, the older adults will have their own apartment, and there are planned activities and entertainment if they wish to participate. Assisted living communities provide meals and support staff for housekeeping, laundry, medication management, social activities and transportation. In most cases, there will be transportation available for access to services such as banking, shopping, pharmacies and medical care.

Know that the assisted living facilities are paid for entirely by private funds i.e. YOU. That is why most of the time facilities do not meet federal and state regulations for Medicare or Medicaid. Thus, there are no uniform national licensing requirements for assisted living communities, so evaluating the right one for you or a loved one can become a very complicated task. One consideration might be the levels of care available, especially if you want to avoid making another move if health declines.

There are many emotional, medical and financial considerations required when looking for the right assisted living community.

Our Quality First Providers in your community can help you with resources for evaluating the right community for you or your loved one. These community Centers for Positive Aging will evaluate your needs and discuss the available options in your area. They understand all the dynamics of finding just the right fit for elder care, and can make the process easier for everyone involved.

Choosing an Assisted Living Community

Memory Loss

Will the older adult need to relocate if they experience memory loss? Some communities do not have locked access floors to prevent wandering, along with specialized staff to provide for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of advanced memory loss and mental health conditions.

Nursing Care

Will the older adult need to relocate if they need advanced nursing care? Some Assisted Living Communities offer nursing care in their communities, others do not.

Additional Costs

Which services are included in the monthly rental fee and which services will incur an additional cost? Think ahead about services, which the older adult may not need now but may need later, such as special dietary needs, medication management and assistance with mobility if a wheelchair becomes necessary.

Social Environment

Will the older adult feel comfortable and find other “like-minds” to easily build new friendships?
Are there activities that will be of interest to them and easy access to off-site activities they previously were involved in?
Does the physical layout of the facility promote social interaction among the residents?

Financial Planning

If the assisted living community offers a nursing center, will they allow the older adult to continue as a Medicaid client if they should run out of money? While no one plans on running out of money, even those with a million dollars or more in assets can run out of money when paying for full-time nursing care, which can easily be $100,000.00 per year. Find out if Medicaid is accepted – some communities will not take new Medicaid residents, but will allow a resident to stay on if they deplete their savings and must switch onto Medicaid.