For many families, it can at first be hard to know when it’s the right time to ask for help and when assisted living can provide the best level of care for your loved one.
As your loved one continues to need more assistance with their daily life, you likely begin to make more decisions on their behalf. From helping them with small daily tasks, to managing overall lifestyle choices, you want to make sure that you’re providing the best possible care.
With the health risks and other challenges brought on by COVID-19, it’s never been more important to recognize when a loved one can no longer care for themselves and to prepare for the move to assisted living.
When Outside Factors Present Risks to Your Loved One
Changes in the weather
When the seasons change, this can present new challenges for caregivers who are supplementing care for their loved ones at home. This is especially true in the approaching winter months.
With less-than-ideal temperatures and more rainy days, there will be fewer opportunities to spend time outdoors. Going from place to place will involve more preparation and care, not only to keep your loved one comfortable, but also to avoid risks such as slips or falls. Venturing out can be unavoidable, as your loved one may need to go to various appointments to maintain their health.
It may be time for them to transition to assisted living where all of their needs can be met within one community.
Preventing the spread of viruses
The winter months also present a higher likeliness for the spread of viruses because of colder weather and more time spent indoors. This is especially important this year with the coronavirus continuing to spread. Protecting your loved one from the coronavirus, flu, and other illnesses that can compromise their health is of critical importance.
Assisted living can protect your loved one from outside viruses and illness, as a senior living community will have many more protections in place.
A strict level of self-quarantining for your loved one may be difficult at home. They may need a controlled environment to minimize how often you or others in the home could be exposed to illness such as the coronavirus.
Caring for a loved one at home can also become a much larger challenge if they become ill. You may lack the resources or not be able to quickly adapt to accommodate all of the changes they need in their care at home.
An assisted living community is equipped to give residents safer and higher levels of care. This is especially important if care needs change rapidly, such as if a loved one catches an illness.
Preventing Accidents and Hospital Visits
As we mentioned, assisted living can more quickly provide for changing levels of care for a loved one. It can also better prevent accidents, such as falls or other injuries. If an accident does occur, an assisted living community has the resources to respond quickly and to meet a resident’s needs.
Having resources available and professionals you can trust at an assisted living community can make all of the difference if assistance is needed because of a fall, injury, or other unexpected accident.
If you don’t have the resources available to react quickly to an injury, accident, or illness at home, you may risk having to take your loved one for an unplanned hospital visit or stay. To avoid potential exposure to the coronavirus in a hospital environment, it helps to have a plan in place for how your loved one will receive the care they need in any of these unexpected circumstances.
Assisted living is set up to not only keep your loved one safe, but also to optimize their strength and health, which is also important for maintaining their wellbeing.
Avoid Having to Make a Rushed Decision
With most decisions, it is best to be proactive rather than reactive. This couldn’t be more true than when it comes to the health of a loved one.
Evaluate their care needs to understand when they may need assisted living, and do the research ahead of time so that you can build a plan for a smooth transition.
This will help you avoid rushed decisions if their health or care needs change, allowing both you and your loved one to feel more comfortable with your decision to transition to assisted living.
Being proactive allows you to make this transition sooner, which is one major step in preventing accidents, injuries, or illnesses that may be a higher risk in a home environment. An assisted living community provides extensive resources and services that can provide the best possible level of care for your loved one.
How The Kensington Can Help
At The Kensington Redondo Beach, we are an assisted living community that builds trust and strengthens relationships between each resident and their primary care manager, working to help each resident feel comfortable, secure, and respected, while also maintaining their independence as much as possible.
We provide a full spectrum of clinical support and a 24/7 on-site nursing staff, making The Kensington ideal for those whose care needs may change.
We help to grow your loved one’s independence by providing them with programs that maintain or even improve their standard of living, with programs including physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, and tailored fitness programs, as well as life enrichment activities, all within a COVID-safe environment.
Our community includes luxurious accommodations, as well as two fully-secure and inviting memory care neighborhoods for residents who have memory loss related care needs.
Call us today and we can help you begin to form a plan that will help your loved one transition smoothly with a move to assisted living.
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To learn more about our exceptional assisted living and memory care at The Kensington Redondo Beach, click below or give us a call today for any questions. We promise to love and care for your family, as we do our own.