Posts Tagged ‘Misconceptions About Assisted Living’

There are so many unfounded rumors and misconceptions about assisted living that we hardly even knew where to begin. Eventually, we decided it was best to start with the most common misconceptions about assisted living and go from there.

Loss of Independence

Many people think that moving out of their own home and into assisted living will mean losing all their independence, but that’s simply not true. It’s called “assisted” living for a reason, not “controlled” living. Our job is to assist our residents in living their best lives.

As people age and start to lose some of their ability to take care of themselves, our role as an assisted living community is to help them with those tasks, including helping out with hobbies and other fun activities as needed.

At Stillwater Senior Living, we not only have parking available for our residents who are still able to drive, we also provide transportation to those who are no longer able to drive. Wherever it is you need to go, we’ll help make sure you get there.

Big-Name Assisted Living Communities Provide the Best Care

Humans are primed to prefer the familiar, which means, when it’s time to choose an assisted living community, we’re more likely to choose one we’ve heard of over a smaller community that might not have as large of a marketing budget.

This is a mistake. You should always do your due diligence before deciding on something as important as assisted living. You’re trusting your loved ones to this building and this staff, so you had better make sure you can trust them.

Assisted living can also be very individual. A larger company might have the more well-known brand, but they might not be able to provide your loved one with the specific level of care they require. The benefit of smaller assisted living communities is that they often have the ability to be more flexible, and are sometimes more affordable because of their lower overhead costs.

Assisted Living Is More Expensive Than Staying Home

This is not always the case, and even when it is, consider the other costs associated with staying home. For example, many of those who choose to stay home rely on an unpaid family member to take care of them. While this person may be very loving and doing their best as a caregiver, if they’re not a trained professional, they may not be equipped to provide the best care. There’s always the chance they may miss something that a professional would recognize as a red flag, or they could make a simple mistake that turns out to be dangerous.

It also means having to put their own career on hold, so the financial strain imposed on the rest of the family as a result of the decision to forego assisted living actually has the potential to outweigh the costs of assisted living.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear and be sure to question everything you think you know about assisted living. It’s an industry that’s changing along with our society, so what may have been true of assisted living in your grandparents’ day may not necessarily be the case today.

Here at Stillwater Senior Living, we treat our residents like family. Our apartments include studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom suites. 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.