Assisted Living Mistakes to Avoid

Asian Family for Senior Care

Last Updated: April 26, 2024

It is important to know the common assisted living mistakes to ensure that you find the right facility that meets your elderly loved one’s care needs. Choosing the right assisted living is crucial since it will have a significant impact on their quality of life, health and happiness as they live out their golden years.

Key Takeaways

Don’t wait last minute and be in a rush. A rushed decision most of the time leads to a bad decision.
Visit the senior living community, use your eyes and ask the right questions. It’s a big decision.
Involve your Loved One(s) in the decision making process. Get their thoughts, feedback.

Avoid these Assisted Living Mistakes

1. Waiting last minute to look for an assisted living facility

People often put off looking for a care facility for their elderly loved ones until the last minute or when the need for assisted living arises. This not only can cause added stress for your family, but your elderly loved one will also be put at risk. Rather than finding a facility that is the best fit, your loved one will be at the mercy of being placed into facilities that have available vacancies.

To prevent this from happening, it is important to start the search as early as possible so you can thoroughly research and check on multiple facilities. This will enable you to compare facilities to one another and help you pick the facility that you see best fit.

2. Not visiting the assisted living facility

Now that you’ve done your research, it’s time to confirm what you have gathered by visiting the assisted living facility and seeing it for yourself. Take the time to tour the facility and observe the residents and its staff members. Never base your decision just on a colorful brochure with a cheery senior on the cover, or on a pretty website.

3. Not discussing care options to your senior loved one

As much as you think you know what’s best for your senior loved one, it is still important to ask for their input and take into consideration their needs. Seeking their opinion shows that you value and care for their welfare, which can later on help decrease or prevent feelings of abandonment, loss of independence, or any negative sentiments from your elderly loved ones.

Discussing the plan with them also ensures that the assisted living facility you have selected both meet you and your loved one’s preferences. Remember that if your loved one is happy in their new home, it will help minimize any problems and even the possibility of having to move them and repeat the facility search.

How to Pick the Best Fit Assisted Living Community

Now that you know what assisted living search mistakes to avoid, here are four tips to assure that you choose the best possible assisted living facility for your elderly loved one.

1. Involve your loved ones in choosing a facility

In order to understand your loved one’s needs, required level of care, and the type of activities and amenities they want, it is very important to discuss with them the available care options. This also allows your elderly loved one to be part of the decision-making process so that they are less likely to feel left out of important discussions regarding their future.

2. Ask the right questions

Don’t just rely on what’s provided on the brochure. Call the assisted living facilities in your area and interview them. Prepare questions that are often not addressed in the brochure and be sure to ask the right questions. For example:

Do they perform background checks on staff members?
What is the staff-to-resident ratio?
Do they train their staff members and caregivers to ensure quality service?
What is their CPR Policy? Do you agree with it?
Do they provide plenty of opportunities for activities and social interaction?
How much do they charge? Are there any additional fees?

3. Do your homework

Now that you’ve narrowed down your selection of to a few assisted living facilities, do a thorough background research and check out the following:

Call State licensing to check the facility’s records, complaints and any violations
Facility ratings with the Better Business Bureau
If the facility is a small care home, check with neighbors in the area if possible
Any existing online reviews and ratings
Ask for a list of current and prior resident families to call

4. Visit the assisted living facility

Visiting the assisted living facility or community you are considering is the only way to get an idea on the what is best for your loved one. Interact with current residents, observe how the caregivers treat the residents, talk to staff members and the director and look for any red flags.

5 Keys When Touring the Assisted Living Community

1. Sense of Sight

When touring an Assisted Living facility, it is important that you observe and be mindful about the things that you see around the facility.

Do you see seniors socializing with other seniors?
Do you see attentive and caring caregivers who respond to the needs of the seniors right away?
Do you see any resident in a wheelchair alone with no caregiver close by?
Do you see any senior alone in their room during the day?
Do you see happy seniors? You can tell by their facial expressions.
Is the Assisted Living facility clean?

You might also want to check the activities calendar for the assisted living residents. If there is an activity during your assisted living tour, it might be a good idea to check it out so you can familiarize yourself with social and recreational programs available.

You can also tell if the assisted living facility’s staff truly cares about their residents by the pictures or any awards they display in their facility.

2. Sense of Smell

The smell of the assisted living facility says a lot about the quality of service provided. Does the assisted living facility smell? If it has a bad odor, it means that the facility is not well maintained and the residents are not being well taken cared off. The facility should not smell bad if:

Caregivers are giving residents a bath on a regular basis
The facility is being cleaned regularly
There are no spoiled food in the kitchen

Ask Yourself: How can the facility provide quality, senior care services to the residents if they cannot even maintain their facility properly?

3. Sense of Hearing

Listening to how the seniors speak to each other will be a good indication about the residents’ mental status and health condition. The conversations and tone of the seniors’ voices will reflect how happy or how sad they are in the assisted living facility. Here are some questions to consider for this sense:

Are the residents interacting with each other?
Are the caregivers respectful and patient when they talk to the residents?
Do the staff members respond to the seniors in a timely manner?
Do you hear any arguments between the staff members and management?

If you have time, talk to the senior residents. Are the seniors happy? How are they treated? Be sure to also talk to the management, staff and caregivers as well. Ask the facility administrator for any references. Can they give you the contact information of some of the families they are currently serving or the ones they have served in the past?

4. Sense of Touch

When touring the assisted living facility, you might want to interact with the residents. A simple handshake or pat on the back can make the seniors happy. It can also give you an opportunity to take a closer look at the resident’s appearance and see if:

Is the senior’s skin soft?
Is the skin color normal?
Does the senior have any bruises or skin conditions?

Not only is the sense of touch healthy, but it is also a powerful tool for communication.

5. Sense of Taste

The quality and taste of the food is very important when selecting an assisted living facility. In fact, today, one of the highest contributors to a senior’s satisfaction in an assisted living facility is the quality of food. Most facilities offer potential residents a tasting menu. If it’s available, you should definitely try it in order for you to assess the quality of food offered to the residents. Also, don’t forget to consider the following:

Does the food taste good?
Is the food freshly cooked?
Are the meals nutritionally balanced?
Does the facility offer special food or a menu for special diets?

Summary

Ultimately, finding an assisted living facility that meets your loved one’s care needs and budget may take some time. However, all the effort going into the search will definitely be worth it. Just remember to keep in mind all of the assisted living search mistakes and tips provided so you can ensure you find the right assisted living for the senior in your life.

Note: We hope you found this Assisted Living Search Mistakes to Avoid article helpful. If you did find it helpful, please don’t forget to share or post it on Facebook, tweet about it on Twitter, or Email it to your friends and loved ones so they can learn more about what assisted living is all about.

We’re here for you.

Give us a call today at (877) 523-6523 x1 for FREE Assisted Living Options.

We can guide you through all of your options so you can make the best decision for your Loved One.

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Kate Allado | Senior Advocate / Care Advisor( State Licensed Certified Administrator | Co-Founder at SeniorCareHomes.Com )

Catharine “Kate” is a Certified Administrator for Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) and an Expert Senior Care Advisor. Kate’s grandmother battled Alzheimer’s Disease and Kate personally understands what millions of families are going through. Kate and her team are very passionate in empowering Seniors and their families by providing them with the Best Available Senior Care Options based on Senior’s care needs, preferred location and family’s budget.