Retirement Communities, Assisted Living and Memory Care

Here are some common questions that people ask when looking for retirement questions:

• Are there retirement homes near me that accept Medicaid or Medicare? Depending on the type of retirement home you are looking for, you may be able to use Medicaid or Medicare to offset some of the costs associated with retirement living. Medicaid and Medicare can only be used to pay for the medical services received at the senior homes – usually at nursing homes, and only if you meet certain requirements. Requirements will vary from state to state.
• Are there retirement homes near me that offer religious services? Many retirement residences offer chaplain and Church services are part of their amenities. There are also retirement homes that are geared towards a certain faith. There are Christian, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and other faithbased retirement homes all over the U.S.
• Are there petfriendly retirement homes near me? Because so many older adults have pets who they love and don’t want to let go of when moving to a retirement homes, an overwhelming percentage of retirement facilities have pet-friendly policies in place. You may have to pay an additional fee to bring a pet with you to the retirement home.
• Are there LGBTfriendly retirement homes near me? While LGBT-friendly retirement communities are not yet the norm, they do exist. Such communities welcome all LGBT seniors and will often offer numerous luxury amenities within the retirement community.
• Are there luxurious retirement homes near me? Many homes for retirees offer upscale amenities and features, for an additional price. Such retirement residences may include Olympicsize pools, restaurants, on-site shopping centers, barbershops, salons, pet spas and much more.
• Are there dementia and Alzheimer’s retirement homes near me? There are thousands of retirement facilities that offer special services to dementia and Alzheimer’s sufferers. These services and amenities may include memory care programs that prevent mental health decline, secure and gated entries, panic buttons, colorcoded rooms and much more.

Find Nursing Retirement Homes

A nursing home is the highest level of care retirement facility that provides a senior who requires careful 24-hour monitoring and professional nursing care management in their place of residence.  The average senior moves into a nursing home when they have a significant disability with at least one activity of daily living. These retirement facilities provide skilled nursing and medical care to older adults that are highly regulated on both federal and state level.

Find Assisted Living Retirement Homes

These types of retirement facilities offer flexible levels of care for seniors that require more assistance than can be provided while living in their own home.  Services that are typically included in assisted living retirement homes are 24-hour staffing (but not necessarily professional nursing staff), help with the activities of daily living, meals, laundry and cleaning, transportation, medical assistance and access to social and recreational activities. These retirement facilities are regulated at a state level, so their care varies from state to state. 

When it comes to specific terms in corporate literature, it is best to be prepared to pick up on the key terms they utilize to distinguish between various types of retirement homes, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities. When you are considering each retirement and healthcare accommodation in your community, you should be fully aware of the type of regulation it falls under to receive the level of care you need and to prevent serious healthcare complications.  If there are any questions that you have along the way, make sure they are raised to an appropriate source along the way.

Within the defined categories of retirement homes, there is a multitude of healthcare accommodations that are available within your community.  There is a retirement living option available in each category that will best suit a particular senior over the age of 55+ who is searching for a new retirement home.

Find Retirement Homes that Provide Memory Care

Seniors that face memory difficulties need specialized medical care and 24-hour monitoring. Changes in the level of care offered by memory care retirement homes include and increased staff to resident ratio, higher level of training of staff, and a retirement facility that needs constant monitoring for the respect, care, safety, and dignity of aging seniors.

Most adults over the age 55 who develop memory loss are facing the conditions of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, strokes and other disorders, conditions and medical complications that affect the brain. Medical diagnosis by a physician or specialists in neurology and geriatric medicine is essential before you decide to look for a retirement home that provides memory care. Memory loss for most seniors is progressive and irreversible. This prognosis does not mean that there is no effective treatment, medications, therapy, activities, and strategies that make dealing with memory loss much less uncomfortable for the senior. Make sure to consider a senior care home’s ability to provide increased care options. Elderly individuals with memory loss deserve an enjoyable and engaging lifestyle.

Many retirement homes have dedicated separate locations for memory care that are within the same facility.  Moving is one of life’s five major stressful events, and when combined with the stress of a progressing chronic illness, it is guaranteed to be a significant psychologically stressful experience in a senior citizens’ life. Having the option of moving within a senior’s existing retirement home or community is much more comfortable for an aging senior with memory loss.  It’s a large factor in making a successful transition to a higher level of residential care. An aging senior will be familiar with the settings and the retirement facility design. They have relationships that have developed with care staff that they can maintain, friendships with other residents that they can continue, and most importantly, if one spouse requires more care than another spouse, it’s possible for them to reside within the same retirement community that offers multiple levels of care.

How to Choose a Retirement Home

The primary function of a retirement home is to provide safe and comfortable assistance with the activities of daily living.  Included in this list of required needs are bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, and feeding. Each senior has a different level of assistance needed with these activities when first entering or choosing a retirement facility, but future requirements may increase as a senior ages so continuing care needs should be assessed.

Other seniors happily find that once they are part of retirement communities, they can do activities that they were not able to enjoy without assistance.  More energy can be used for personal pleasure within their senior years with the support of a retirement home. When daily living tasks are the main focus of healthcare in a retirement home, it allows a senior to think about other parts of life, whether it be family, creating friendships, enjoying personal hobbies and activities in the retirement home or just simply enjoying the peace of mind that comes with safe, quality care.

The ease of completing daily tasks all within one retirement facility also dramatically increases the amount of empowerment and self-determination felt for an aging individual. The daily struggles of an aging adult living in their own home can become insurmountable when attempting to transport and organize themselves. This causes some of these daily living tasks to become impossible to complete for seniors. When these barriers of access are removed by providing all their daily needs under one roof in a retirement home, a senior’s independence may increase.

All retirement homes are not created equally, nor do they all provide the same level of care. Although all retirement homes are tightly regulated by law, there are significant differences between each retirement option. There are a variety of settings where care is provided, depending on number factors like the population size of seniors needing attention within a community. Large cities tend to have more retirement options and choices for eldercare, but the level of care is not necessarily superior to the retirement living alternatives in smaller cities and towns. Smaller areas tend to have retirement facilities that seniors have grown to know over their lives.  They realize that other residents have been long-term friends or members of their community and there is value in seniors having familiarity as the processes of moving and aging are incredibly stressful.

Some large retirement homes are like shared living communities, where each resident has their own room or suite and then shares the common activity areas like dining halls, restaurants, activity areas including a variety of active lifestyle and fitness options, meeting rooms, small stores or areas dedicated to providing a range of extra amenities, and areas for family and visitors to enjoy with their loved ones. These extensive retirement facilities have their apparent advantages, but a large facility may not be the best fit for all seniors. 

Many seniors that are using retirement home are in the process of transitioning between increased levels of care.  Some are returning from hospital stays or after rehabilitation facilities from strokes or are progressively needing more attention.  Some seniors do best in smaller retirement facilities, wings or wards because areas and size of the retirement facility are more modest, there are fewer residents, and the faces of staff tend to be repetitive and familiar.  These retirement homes tend to be homier with less dramatic change throughout the day.  Although they may not offer swimming pools or fancy facilities, there is something more valuable to be found for those seniors needing this type of care.

Some other types of retirement homes offer a more hospital-like setting with a smaller number of residents assigned to staff, which means the daily focus is more on medical requirements.  Although these retirement facilities provide the same regulated service as other retirement homes with qualified staff, concentrations are different at each facility.

Which type of retirement home is the best fit for you or your elderly loved ones is a compelling choice in planning for the future.