Posts Tagged ‘independence’

Those who put off assisted living generally have two main reasons for doing so: cost and a fear that they’ll lose their independence. We’ve covered the issue of cost in other blog posts, so for this one we’re just going to focus on independence, since it can be the most difficult obstacle for some people to overcome.

Assistance Is Not Control

The fact of aging is that it often comes with a loss of independence all on its own. We tend to lose our strength, agility, balance, and memory as we age, making it more difficult to do things for ourselves. That’s where the loss of independence comes in, not assisted living.

In fact, assisted living is the opposite of dependence. The goal of an assisted living community is not to control its residents, but to help them accomplish what they need and want to accomplish. That’s why most assisted living communities offer help with shopping, cleaning, meals, and reminders to take medications when necessary, but residents who are able to do any of those things for themselves are often left to take care of them on their own.

Most assisted living communities also offer parking for residents who are still able to drive themselves around, and offer help scheduling transportation for those who can’t drive themselves so they don’t have to feel like a prisoner in their own home.

Owning Your Space

One of the most effective ways to help residents feel at home is by giving them control over their own space, so most assisted living communities give their residents the opportunity to organize and decorate their living space to their liking, which gives them a sense of ownership over the space and helps them to feel more comfortable there. Residents are often encouraged to bring personal possessions to put around their living space so they can feel at home their right away.

The same goes for respecting their personal space as belonging to them and giving them as much control over it as possible. Staff are trained to respect residents’ privacy, and while they are there to provide assistance as needed, they shouldn’t interfere with a resident’s way of doing things. If a resident likes to have their apartment organized in a certain way, or if they have a specific way of doing things, the staff should respect the resident’s wishes as much as they can while providing them with the level of care they need.

Some assisted living communities will even let you take your pet with you. For example, we have a Pet Concierge to help residents take care of their pets. Because we recognize all the physical and emotional benefits pets have to offer, we do everything in our power to make it easy for our residents to take their pets with them into assisted living. Those who are able to care for their own pets can do so, and those who need a little help can get it so they don’t have to give up their best friend when they move into our assisted living community.

Here at Stillwater Senior Living, we treat our residents like family. Our apartments include studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom suites, and we are pet friendly. They are designed with security features, maximum accessibility, and include walk-out patois with a full range of amenities for the entire family.

CONTACT US today for more information and a tour of our beautiful state-of-the-art community.