Transitioning to senior living can be an exciting adventure. However, like with any big change in life, some adjustments are required. It’s a big deal relocating, meeting new people, and following a new routine, so if you’re helping a loved one move into a senior living community, here are some tips that will ensure they settle in quickly.
Be Open and Honest
Bringing up the topic of senior living can be intimidating both for yourself and your loved one. If your loved one is fiercely independent, they may be fearful about leaving their home and going into the unknown. This means you’ll need to provide reassurance and stress the benefits of senior living. Whether your loved one has dementia, and they require memory care, or they’re having frequent falls and need more assistance, Monarch Communities have senior living Southbury CT options you can look into.
Take a Tour
Before your loved one moves to a senior living community, you’ll want to ensure they’ll be in a place that promotes social activity, excellent care, and support. This means you should take a tour of a facility well in advance. Doing so will give you and your loved one a better idea of whether the community is right for their needs. Use the tour as an opportunity to engage with the caregivers and other members of staff. As you build relationships, this will give you more confidence that you’ve made the right decision.
Empathize
Moving from their home to a senior living community is a huge life change. Therefore, you need to put yourself in your loved one’s shoes and empathize with their situation. Your loved one may have all sorts of fears and reservations about leaving home, so try to relate to what they’re going through and offer constant love, support, and guidance. If your loved one has any questions about senior living, make sure you provide the answers.
Get Organized
Once you’ve found the right senior living community for your loved one and you have a date for them to move in, it’s time to get organized. Of course, you won’t be able to bring all your loved one’s belongings, so you’ll need to sit down with them and decide what can be given away and what is deemed sentimental. To help your loved one settle in, make sure they have possessions that remind them of home, such as photographs of friends and family.
Encourage Social Activity
To help your loved one settle into senior living, try and encourage them to be social. Moving somewhere new can be frightening, so you’ll need to give your loved one a push in the right direction to branch out and meet other residents. The last thing you want is for your loved one to feel isolated and alone, as this can lead to anxiety and depression.
If the time has come for your loved one to move into senior living, there are lots of things to get sorted out in advance. Make sure you keep communication lines open with your loved one, and ensure you use the tips above which can help make the transition easier for all involved.
