Researching the best Senior Living Community for you or a loved can be time consuming.

Here are 5 things to assist in your search:

1. Friendliness of staff and residents

Do not base your Senior Living Community decision off solely of your interaction with the sales person.

If other staff introduces themselves to you it is a good indicator that they will be friendly when you live there.

Staff and residents interacting with one another is a good indicator that there will be less turn-over, which equates to residents receiving more consistent care and better service. Also, resident’s interacting with each other signals that you will be warmly welcomed.

2. Activities

• Look at the activity calendar before the tour.
• See if the activity(s) are being lead and how well attended they are.
• Are the types of activities you are interested in are on the calendar.
• Ask if you can recommend an activity or outing be added to the calendar.

3. Meals

Food choices, quality, nutrition and socialization will improve your overall health and well-being. Find out if meal times are scheduled, a window of time or all day to determine if it fits with your daily routine.Be sure to try a few meals in the communities you are considering to see how quickly the food is served, how residents interact during meal time as well as the overall presentation of the food, quality and variety on the menu.

4. Resident Satisfaction

If I were to recommend one thing to do before deciding on a community, it would be to speak with as many residents as possible. In speaking with the residents, you will find out more information than you would from speaking with staff. Keep in mind, there are some residents that, no matter how hard a community tries to please, will always be dissatisfied, which is why I recommend speaking with more than 5.

5. Staffing Ratios

Pay attention to how many caregivers you see during your tour.

Ask how many caregivers, med-aides, and nurses are on duty during each shift.

Keep in mind, many communities base the number of care staff off of the acuity levels of the residents.

The number of staff on duty is determined by the number of hours of caregiving needed to meet all the care needs of the residents.

Lastly, is the care staff serving meals or are there separate dining wait staff serving food in the dining room.

If I had a choice, I would prefer the person serving my food during mealtime wasn’t also assisting residents with showers and toileting.

Article Provided by:
Senior One Source
503-420-9011
www.SeniorOneSource.net

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