In an ideal world, couples who are in happy, loving relationships would enjoy staying together for as long as they want, being together in excellent health. However, this is not a perfect world. People age at different rates and while your age might be similar to your spouse’s, your health care needs might differ greatly. There lies the difficulty as you age and require different levels of assistance and care later in life. Read on for a guide to learn more about couples planning for assisted living!
Start Planning Early
You need to start planning early. People are living longer than before and they stay healthier for a longer time. This means that couples are now reaching their golden years together. This is not always an easy path though. You need to ask the important questions early so you can have a better and less stressful time when you have to move into an assisted living facility. Think about what you want in advance. Talk about possible scenarios to determine what is good for your relationship and the expected level of care for your needs. After moving in, some couples wished that they had made the transition earlier. The main reason is that while they have their spouse for companionship, they love the interaction with other residents too.
Conduct a Needs Assessment
You need to carefully assess both of your requirements before making a decision to move into a specific assisted living community. This is to make sure that each person’s needs are appropriately met. If you have different levels of functionality, see how the services may need to differ so there is not too much trouble for one spouse to care for the other. Visit a doctor to get a full assessment and your projected needs. If one of you experiences memory loss issues, then one of you might need to choose the memory care option for a greater level of care, while the other one will opt for other living options in the community that is more appropriate for his or her need. You can visit with your partner in the memory care option as often as you want.
Research Communities
You need to research to find out which communities are suitable for you to meet your care needs at an affordable budget. Talk to the people in the communities to understand how to ease the transition to assisted living for both of you. You can also smoothen the transition by connecting to other people through a support group. Many communities have resident ambassadors who help newcomers transition into the community. You can ask to speak to them and see what your options are. It will even be better if there are other couples in the community. You can ask them how they deal with the transition as well.
After reading this guide for couples planning for assisted living, you might want to learn more about Discovery Village At The West End’s four living options: independent living, assisted living, memory care, and respite care. Feel free to contact us to find out more!
