There are two reasons that can prompt you to start looking for elder housing, it either because of a chronic medical condition or a pure desire to give your aged parent a change of lifestyle, either of the two, it is important to consider some senior housing options.
What is a senior housing?
Aging is inevitable, it’s just part of being human, but when people age, they tend to lose some part of them and because of that, it becomes difficult to perform some basic but fundamental activities in their lives. These activities revolve around daily human needs such as physical and medical needs, home maintenance, social and emotional needs as well as financial needs. In simple terms, a senior housing also referred to as elder housing is a place or a home where the aged get help with all their physical, emotional, social, medical and financial needs. However, there are different types of senior housing for you loved ones, it could be your grandparents, parents or a family member.
So what are the senior housing options you have?
There is a wide range of housing options to choose, starting with your own home to specialized facilities that offers an array of nursing services.
Option 1: Independent living communities
In this type of senior housing also referred to as retirement homes, there are fully equipped private apartments, condominiums or free-standing home for seniors which come in different sizes and features. These houses are specially designed to facilitate movement of the elderly people. It possible to find recreational facilities in this mode of housing that are tailored to make life more interesting for the aged.
Option 2:Assisted living
This is another housing option for the elderly and it’s also known as assisted care community or personal care home. Assisted living communities focus on seniors who need help and support with some daily living activities such as medication, meals, and general housekeeping. Meals are provided three times a day in a common dining space. This option is suitable for ailing seniors as it offers a 24 hours nursing service but at an agreeable rate. Custom room requirements can be arranged but in most communities, seniors share rooms.
Option3:Nursing homes
This is one of the most common senior housing options that is mostly designed to host and cater for seniors who need high-level of medical attention and assistance. It offers a mandatory 24-hour nursing care and this what differentiates it from other types of adult care housing. Some nursing homes now offer short-term rehabilitative stays but with limited services as to the long-term care residents. Other nursing centers have set up separate units for Alzheimer’s patients.
Option 4: The village concept
This elder housing option is the most recent option to all the different types of senior housing. It’s a more independent solution which requires resident seniors to access specialized programs such as home health care and transportation to and from shopping markets. This mode of housing enables the seniors to interact with other village members.
Option 5: Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities
Similar to the village concept, it allows seniors to access volunteer programs, local services and a host of other social activities from the comfort of their homes.
When considering one of these elder housing options, there are factors that you’ll need to digest, namely: Level of care you want, location and accessibility, available social support, caregiving support, and finances. After all consideration, it’s time to give your seniors a habitable and conducive environment for them to age peacefully.
