Senior Assisted Living

If you are concerned that a senior you love needs help they don’t have at home, consider the benefits of assisted living. 

First, let's answer the question "What is assisted living?" Assisted living communities offer support for seniors who need help caring for themselves or their homes. They can provide personal care, like assistance with bathing, grooming, or dressing, and medication reminders. They can also provide services like meal preparation, housekeeping, and home maintenance. Many communities that provide assisted living for seniors also offer short-term respite care. 

We can help you understand senior housing options and determine if assisted living is the right choice for you and your loved ones. 

What Does Assisted Living Provide?

Enlivant offers compassionate care with support for activities of daily living (ADLs) in an intimate community setting. We provide attentive, individualized care that enables residents to thrive in body, mind, and spirit. For every new resident, we complete a thorough health assessment, which provides the starting point for an individual care plan.

In every assisted living community, care is delivered by a full-time licensed nurse and a team of Resident Care Partners. Our communities are staffed around-the-clock, and a licensed nurse is available 24 hours a day to provide clinical oversight and coordination of care. 

Our assisted living apartments include:

• Assistance with activities of daily living, including dressing, bathing, and dinning
• Meals and snacks every day, with a dietician-supervised menu
• Nursing oversight
• Care for chronic conditions like diabetes
• Medication management
• Housekeeping and laundry
• Apartment maintenance and repairs

At Enlivant’s assisted living facilities, your loved one will have the ability to participate in a wealth of activities, including social, recreational, and wellness programs, arts and crafts, community outings, and outdoor activities such as gardening. Many of Enlivant’s residences include off-site transportation for shopping, banking, and cultural events. There are even welcoming places for your loved one to enjoy time with family and friends, private outdoor spaces to take in fresh air, and quiet spots for relaxation.

Many Enlivant communities also coordinate with physicians and other health professionals to provide onsite services. We assist residents with mild cognitive impairment and memory loss in their day-to-day activities and offer programming to meet their individual needs and interests. In some Enlivant communities, we do provide specialized and secure memory care for seniors with advanced dementia.

When Is It Time for Assisted Living?

Have you ever wondered, "When is it time for assisted living?" Enlivant can help you determine what options you and your loved one have and when you should start looking. A loved one's increasing physical limitations are a common sign that it may be time to look closely at helping him or her move into an assisted living community. Limitations may include mobility problems, which can lead to falling, as well as the inability to attend to personal grooming, dressing, and daily hygiene. More serious health risks can also prompt a move into assisted living. If a loved on has recently suffered a heart attack or stroke, they will likely benefit from the care (including assistance with medication) provided in an assisted living community. Click HERE to learn more about when to consider assisted living.

Often there are signs that living at home is no longer the best option. Many seniors are initially unsure about moving to an assisted living community. Sometimes it's because they don't know what to expect, and other times it's because they can still manage at home with support from family and friends. This can make it difficult to decide when staying home is no longer the best option for your parent. Here are a few things that can help determine when senior assisted living is right for your loved one.

• Safety Concerns

Physical limitations can increase with age, making falls a serious risk. Assisted living may be the right choice to prevent accidents in the home. Every assisted living apartment features an emergency alert system. Our staff is available on-site day and night, should your relative need us.

• Social Isolation

Withdrawing from friends and regular activities because of declining health, embarrassment over memory or personal care issues, or lack of mobility, can lead to isolation, loneliness, and even depression. Assisted living communities offer a social, supportive community.

• Dependence

When daily or routine tasks are difficult to manage alone, more help may be needed than can be provided by a caregiver or loved one. We provide person-centered care designed around your loved one's unique needs.

• Stress

When taking care of a loved one is interfering with other aspects of life, an assisted living community may be able to improve the quality of life for both the senior and the caregiver. 

Memory loss is another factor that adult children of seniors must consider when deciding whether or not to move a parent into assisted living. Forgetfulness can lead to overlooking problems or dangers, like getting lost or leaving the stove on. It can also lead to forgetting to eat or take necessary medication. When a loved one's memory is affecting the ability to perform necessary daily tasks, it may be time to start looking into an assisted living community.

If your loved one's memory issues are more significant, it may be time to consider memory care. Click HERE to learn more about Enlivant's memory care services.

When Assisted Living isn’t Enough

Sometimes, a loved one needs more care than assisted living can provide. In this case, we would recommend a skilled nursing facility.

Nursing homes are for people who require significant medical care, such as a specialized line for IV medications, a ventilator, respiratory therapy, or have a stage 3–4 pressure ulcer (bed sore). Essentially, any senior who needs medical treatment that requires the care of a registered nurse around the clock or daily therapy services will need a skilled-care setting.

A stay in a skilled nursing facility is akin to a hospital stay. It is often temporary, with the goal being rehabilitating a patient and then moving him or her to assisted living or back home. A nursing home may be a permanent placement for a person with significant physical or medical needs.

The Difference Between Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing

Assisted living is ideal for seniors who need help with some tasks—such as bathing, meal preparation, and dressing—but who do not require constant nursing care. Assisted living communities are not synonymous with “nursing homes.” As opposed to a nursing home that is focused on offering round-the-clock nursing care from certified nursing staff, an assisted living community is a thriving and vibrant environment with licensed care services when needed.

Assisted living includes a care team available 24 hours per day to help residents with eating, mobility, and medication reminders, also known as ADLs (Activities of Daily Living). Seniors enjoy three meals per day and snacks from a dietitian-supervised menu.

Find out more about the differences between assisted living and skilled nursing.