Successfully Transitioning Into an Assisted Living Facility

Whether the initial decision to move into an assisted living facility is made by your loved one or by you on their behalf, it is a difficult one to make. Both of you are going to have important questions that need to be asked and answered. Will my mom or dad receive the appropriate type of medical care? Will he or she be able to make new friends? How in the world is this going to be paid for? While it might seem overwhelming at first, Senior Living Options of the Desert is here to assist you and your parent, into successfully making the transition into an assisted living home.

In our experience, we have discovered that there are three keys to successfully making the transition to an assisted living facility: preparation, keeping a positive attitude, and surrounding your parent with a support network of friends and family members. The first step in preparation will be to help your parent decide which of their possessions will be making the move with them. Visit your parents’ new home to take measurements to determine how much room there will be for large pieces of furniture. Ask the facility administrator what, if any, furniture will be provided in the new home.

In most instances, larger pieces of furniture are going to be left behind. However, prized, smaller possessions can be used to create an “at home” feeling in a new apartment. Help your parent choose the pieces from their current home that have the most emotional significance to take with them. We cannot stress to you enough how important it is to begin packing well in advance of your parent’s move. If the fine details are left until the last minute, it will increase the emotional amount of stress on everyone involved when moving day arrives.
As moving day does approach, it is going to be more and more important for you to maintain a positive attitude around your parent. Understand that there is a myriad of emotions they are experiencing right now, and a steady and calm influence can be enormously beneficial to your parent. For example, your parent may be feeling a sense of loss or grief because they view moving into an assisted living facility as a loss of independence. Be calm. Listen to your mom or dad talk as much as they need too. Remind them that these feelings are normal, and their intensity will lessen with time.

At this time, gathering a support network of friends and family members around your loved one is going to be highly important. A support network is more than just a number of physical bodies to assist on moving day. While your parent is making the transition to an assisted living facility, he or she is going to need the soothing presence of familiar faces and voices to lessen their anxiety. If you have siblings, see if you cannot devise a schedule of weekly visits or daily phone calls between yourselves. Having the security of these visits and conversations will be enormously beneficial to your parent.

There is a considerable amount of preparation, planning, and logistics that must go into moving your parent into an assisted living facility, but this is not a burden that you have to bear alone.

Contact Senior Living Options of the Desert to speak with one of our family advisors at 1-888-700-4322 and find out more about how we can assist you and your family during your loved ones time of need.