Monday, March 4, 2013

Elder Care - Understanding Assisted Living Solutions


Life comes full circle for all of us. Our parents raised us to be responsible adults, but what about them. As time passes, kids become responsible for the care of their parents. With the hectic modern life, this often means assisted living as an elder care solution.

Modern medicine is fairly miraculous. Although the media loves to play up the latest health threat, the true fact is we've never lived longer as individuals in a society. With longer life spans, however, elder care is becoming a big issue. Most people don't have the resources or time to care for an elder parent or two and look for alternatives.

Assisted living is a combination of two seemingly conflicting concepts. On the one hand, an assisted living residence provides a senior with basic needs such as meal preparation and personal attention for basic tasks. On the other hand, it also provides them with the freedom to undertake actions on their own, go where they will and generally lead a normal life with minimal restriction. In short, assisted living is a step down from a traditional nursing home.

How popular are assisted living facilities these days? Well, there are over 20,000 of them across the country. More than 1,000,000 people live in them. As our society ages, particularly baby boomers, an odd thing is happening. Investing in assisted living facilities is becoming popular. This is leading to a massive expansion in the number of facilities available with cities like San Diego leading the way.

One of the questions that often pops up for many people is whether assisted living facilities can handle seniors with Alzheimer's? The answer depends on the facility in question. Some do and some do not. The level of care for an Alzheimer's patent is also an issue. Make sure to both ask if a facility can handle such a patient and then ask to see the care in action.

Is assisted living for everyone? Of course, not. There are different levels of care for different situations. Assisted living is ideally designed for the senior that needs some assistance, but wants to carry on an independent lifestyle.

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