5 Signs That You Should Never Ignore When Your Loved One Lives in a Senior Living Community

I have worked in the Senior Living Industry for many years the first 10 years I worked in a Skilled Nursing Facility as a Social Services Director and now for the past 19 years as an Administrator in Assisted Communities. My passion has always been to make sure that our seniors live longer happier lives in their new home in Assisted Living and this is why I want to share with you 5 things you should never ignore when your loved one lives in a Senior Living Community.

Once you have moved your loved into the community that you have chosen there is a transition period that they go through so you want to make sure that you follow up and visit to make sure that your loved one is adjusting and is happy. If you are seeing signs that they are not adjusting after 3 to 4 weeks there might be a reason. One of the most important things to look for is to make sure that staff are friendly towards your loved one and to other residents as well as visitors. If you are seeing other residents look unhappy then this might be a sign that the community that you have chosen may not a have a good core of staff and this is a big warning sign for you. It is vitally important that staff are happy where they work because if the staff is happy then your residents are happy always remember that.

Customer Service is vitally important to your loved onefor example making sure that your loved ones call light is being answered in a timely manner if not this is a sign that they maybe under staffed. Also making sure that your loved ones hygiene needs are being met, are they in clean clothing and well groomed when you come to visit. If this is a concern and your loved ones hygiene is an issue then you should speak with the Administrator or Care Coordinator and if things don’t change and your loved one is receiving inadequate care and support you might consider whether it is time for a better community that will meet the needs of your loved one.

Meals is always a sign to never ignore this is the last true thing that residents still have control over is what they like to eat and not eat. There is always going to be those residents that its hard to please for the food even when you have the best food in town and you as a loved one know the difference in good food and bad food. This is why if your loved one complains about their meals make sure that you go and have several meals at the community to see what they are serving and making sure that the food is good tasting because there could be some truth to what they are saying. Food is a big part of their lives in senior living they are provided three meals a day and you want to make sure that they are getting the nutrition that they need.

Activities plays an important role for your loved one in senior living you want to make sure that when you visit that there are activities going on and that residents aren’t just sitting around doing nothing this is often common in communities. So when you are visiting make sure you see activities happening especially on the weekend.

Appearance of the community is also a sign to look for when you first pull up to the community are the grounds and parking lot clean. When you enter into the community is the lobby area, activity area, dining room area clean. And most importantly is your loved ones apartment clean and odor free when you come to visit.

These are the top five things that you should look for after your loved one has moved into a Senior Community the happiness of your loved one is what matters and having them be happy where they live will also bring comfort to you. Contact me for any questions or visit our website at: www.calsonmanagement.com or email me at: alana@calsonmanagement.com