skip to Main Content
Choosing The Right Assisted Living Center

Choosing The Right Assisted Living Center

Choosing an Assisted Senior Living facility for your loved one can seem a quite daunting task. How do you truly assess every aspect of a facility to make sure it’s the right fit and your loved one will feel safe and happy there? After all, there are many key factors that go into assessing a senior assisted living facility and making a well-informed decision that you feel really good about. We hope to help simplify the task at hand so it doesn’t feel so monumental!

Assisted Senior Living Tips & Checklist

#1 Cleanliness – How clean is the facility at more than just the surface? This means looking past the bigger details like the furniture and floors in front of you. What do the little details look like in terms of cleanliness? Are the corners and baseboards clean and bright? Do the fixtures and common areas look sanitary and like they are attended to regularly? It may seem nit-picky but remember that this is where your loved one will reside most of the time. You want the facility to be cleanly on a deeper level ensuring proper sanitization and less spreading of viruses and harmful germs. 

#2 Activity Hour – Try to schedule your visit during an activity hour or some facility event. Watch the interaction and observe if the seniors are enjoying themselves and if the staff is running the event properly and with real enthusiasm. Seeing how these events pan out helps to show the type of environment at a more real level when the interaction is taking place.  

#3 Staff Vibe – Really watch how the staff interact with the residents. Do they seem genuine and caring? You want to make sure that without a donut you are leaving your loved one in the care of someone who genuinely cares about their health and happiness. Get a feel for the staff and use your gut instinct and intuition to really feel out the vibe you get.

#4 Outdoor Areas – Are the outdoor areas not only safe but are they enjoyable? When residents are outdoors are there enough staff in attendance so that each may get the care they need should a situation arise? Do you feel comfortable in the outdoor areas and are their shaded spots out of the direct sunshine? 

#5 Saftey/Security – One of the main focuses when choosing an assisted living facility is that you really assess the security and safety of the residents. Do you feel that your loved one is in a safe and well-managed environment? Should a situation or an emergency occur will the facility respond to it adequately?  Ask for a list of their safety measures and precautions and what they do in the vent of an emergency situation.

#6 Meal Time – Look at the dining areas and where the majority of meal times will be spent. Would you feel comfortable and happy eating in the provided environment? Adjusting to living in a senior facility can be difficult and take some time in getting used to. Making sure that some of the simple tasks throughout the day like mealtime, lounge time, and hygiene time are as comfortable and inviting as possible really helps in easing them into their new living conditions.