Assisted Living Facilities

5 Useful Tips for Transitioning into Senior Housing

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The move to senior housing can be tough on you and your loved one, but it can sometimes serve as the best option for both parties. So, whether you’re just beginning to consider your options or you’re getting ready for the move, here are five useful tips to help your loved one transition smoothly into this new living community:

Find the right community

 

There are a lot of senior housing facilities out there, but not all of them will fit your loved one’s needs. So, never rush into finding a community. Instead take the time to do your research and consider factors like level of care, amenities, staff, activities, location and cost.

 

The process of finding the right community may be the longest part of transitioning into senior housing, but it will surely prove to be worth your time and effort if you see your loved one happy.

 

Facilitate the moving process

 

Planning the move itself can be challenging for you and especially your loved one. In fact, this is such an emotional process because it means stepping out of a house that your loved one may have lived in for decades, so you should plan and facilitate everything to make him as comfortable as possible during the move.

 

Give the community time to get to know your loved one and understand his condition. Provide all the necessary support but be careful not to overstep boundaries with professionals because it could affect the level of care, they will provide to your loved one.

Make the effort to spend time with your loved one

 

When you are asked to move into a completely new living environment, it will definitely take time for you to get used to it and adjust to being in a different circumstance.

 

The first few weeks from the move will be a crucial time of adjustment for your loved one, so be there for him as much as you can. Let him feel that you are involved in his care and that he can count on you even if he lives in senior housing.

Keep home as close as possible

 

One of the benefits of choosing senior housing facilities is that you have the option to personalize your loved one’s apartment to give him that sense of familiarity with his new living space. Choose furniture that he can easily use comfortably, bring items that will remind him of your home and always make sure that all his needs are provided for.

 

Join your loved one in his journey

 

The transition to senior living takes time, patience, understanding and a lot of hard work. But your loved one and your entire family can get through this journey as long as you do it together.

 

You may have days filled with joy and some filled with tears. But what you must remember is that your loved one should be given the best quality of life possible even if he is suffering from a debilitating medical condition.

 

Have a loved one who is looking for the perfect senior housing? Click here and get in contact with us today so we can fill you in on why we could be the perfect match!

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

assisted living facilities

How Involved Should Families Be with Seniors in Assisted Living?

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Chances are, you have a family member who’s about to move into one of the assisted living facilities in your area. With the baby boomers reaching their late adulthood years, there has been a steady growth of seniors moving into these facilities so they can get more supervised care and a better quality of life as they deal with the different changes of growing old.

 

Since this is a highly emotional decision for the family, it’s not uncommon for you to wonder about how involved you should be in the care of your loved one.

 

Here, we help you understand your role better as a family member and how you could help give your loved one an excellent life while in assisted living:

 

You can be involved without being nosy.

 

You want your family member to feel comfortable and loved while in assisted living facilities and that’s what the staff is there for. You can be involved by making sure that you are available to talk with the team about matters regarding the care of your loved one.

 

You can also be present whenever you can without invading the space of the healthcare team to allow them to do their job right. If you see a problem, don’t criticize.

 

Instead, make suggestions that will help them improve the quality of care. Never step over the boundaries of employees because they know better than you when it comes to your loved one’s care.

 

Invest in quality time with your loved one.

 

Whenever you have the time to visit your loved one, make sure to spend your time well not only in caring for him but also in helping out the facility. Some spouses usually visit residents almost daily and aside from spending time with them, they also volunteer to help out with preparing meals or assisting other residents without interfering with the job of the staff. How you spend your time with your loved one is more important than the length of time you spend with him, so make every minute count.

 

Be an advocate but never feel entitled.

 

Staff members in assisted living facilities love family members who are advocates of their loved ones’ wellbeing. They are there when needed and they do everything to help out in the care of the residents.

 

But there are also times when families become too unrealistic about their expectations from the healthcare team. Some would start demanding that their loved one needs to be cared for by one nurse, but that can be very unrealistic in an assisted living setting where there’s no one-to-one staff-to-resident ratio.

 

As a family member, you only want the best for your loved one. After all, that’s the primary goal of sending him to an assisted living facility.

 

But you also need to know your boundaries when it comes to your involvement in the care of your loved one to maintain a good relationship with the staff and ultimately, provide the best care possible to the resident.

 

 

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

memory care

The Four Best Practices for Effective Memory Care

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Every year, at least 10 million people around the world are diagnosed with dementia. The life-changing and debilitating condition that affects memory, cognition and even the ability to perform simple activities is affecting more than 50 million people. Plus, with the elderly population growing, these numbers are expected to increase immensely over the next few years.

 

Memory care is now one of the most important pillars of the medical world. The practice that deals with patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and other dementias focus on improving their quality of life by slowing down disease progression, preserving memory and offering independence through the following four best practices.

 

Practices

 

1. Promoting proper nutrition

 

Studies have proven that a lack of proper nutrition and the inadequate consumption of food and fluids could easily speed up the progression of the disease due the decline in the patient’s overall wellbeing.

 

Therefore, a good memory care facility always conducts screenings to assess the patient’s nutritional needs for the healthcare team to plan the appropriate care depending on the patient’s life circumstances and preferences. Mealtimes are also used as a form of socialization where patients can interact with other people while enjoying their food.

 

2. Creating meaningful activities

 

Throughout the day, patients are given the opportunity to enjoy different activities that will not only allow them to functional normally but also help deal with their condition more effectively.

 

Memory care staff always promotes independence by allowing patients to make their own bed, tidy their room, water the plants, and perform self-care activities so they still feel a sense of purpose despite their inability to remember things. This will make them feel more empowered as they tackle their disease and ensure that they continue to live a good quality of life.

 

3. Ensuring socialization

 

Socialization and interaction are very important parts of memory care because they help patients keep the functional abilities, promote better self-esteem and enhance their quality of life.

 

Healthcare teams usually plan activities that allow patients to enjoy great conversations and share experiences with their carers, family members and the staff. But memory care also respects the need for space and alone time of some of its patients.

 

4. Keeping things simple and attainable

 

Patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia have difficulties coping up with their condition and it can get extremely frustrating for them to not be able to do activities that they used to be capable of.

 

That is why it’s very important for memory care staff to keep routines, schedules and approaches as simple as possible. This means focusing only on what makes an activity successful and getting rid of non-essential things that can only cause worry and frustration.

 

As the medical world still works on finding a cure for dementia and Alzheimer’s, memory care plays a very crucial role in ensuring that everyone suffering from these medical conditions are not only properly cared for but also allowed to enjoy the best years of their life despite the limitations posed by the disease.

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

Fallbrook Memory Care Facility

How Technology Helps in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

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Nursing homes and assisted living facilities to benefit from technological innovations to aid in the care and management of records for patients. Here are just a few of the notable contributions of technology to health care.

 

IT Systems

Generally, information technology will be able to address the challenges in-home health care, including the large geographic distances, making resources more costly for rural patients. Such would include advances in social networking tools, telecommunication, and Web solutions to support health care delivery and education.

 

Information technology can be introduced in nursing homes in a variety of ways including the following functions.

Active monitoring and management

  • Home-based disease management through telehealth applications
  • Web-based communities for patients in-home care
  • Personal health care records

Passive monitoring and management

  • Smart homes
  • Robotic applications

 

Tele-Health Applications

This type of technology offers a platform for supporting disease management for patients in nursing homes diagnosed with chronic conditions as well as their families.

 

Web-Based Communities

The Internet also supports a consumer-centric model and enables the creation of networks for the community, home care patients diagnosed with the same condition, families or other informal caregivers, and the public in general.

That is, in addition to the Web-based applications focused on the institution-centric approach and connect home care patients to health care providers. These networks are referred to as virtual communities that share the same goal, interest, needs, or activity.

 

Personal Health Records

This is defined as the electronic record of health-related information of an individual that conforms to the recognized interoperability standards of the country. A personal health record is a tool used for sharing health information, helping transform patients into better-educated health care consumers, and increasing health understanding.

 

Smart Homes

A house equipped with technology as an integral part of the infrastructure is considered a smart home intended to facilitate the monitoring of residents and increasing the quality of life. This technology does not require operation or training by the resident, but standalone units are used to be controlled by the end-user.

The advancement of technology has prompted the development of smart home applications around the world. One example is the development of Smart Medical Home, a highly controlled environment that involves biosensors, infrared sensors, and video cameras.

 

Robotic Applications

It is a method that employs artificial intelligence principles, and sometimes, with anthropomorphic features used in the clinical setting, mostly in experimental mode surgery, and robotic-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty, and cystectomy.

One of the applications considered is the robotic dog, which is used as part of animal-assisted therapy in treating loneliness. Another example is the therapeutic robotic harp seal designed to create a calming sensation.

 

Final Thoughts

There are clear advantages to integrating IT in nursing homes or home care facilities. Such would include easy and efficient communication amid the geographic distance. Moreover, it enables the generation of new types of data without the need for health care providers to be physically present in the residential setting.

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

Alzheimer’s Care Facilities

Ways to Keep Your Loved One Happy in Alzheimer’s Care Facilities

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A loved one with Alzheimer’s disease should be mentally and physically stimulated. In fact, even if his or her mental or physical abilities have declined due to dementia, it doesn’t mean that enrichment stops.

One of the things you can do is to get involved to keep your loved one happy as they start to live in a nursing home. Thus, you need to help seniors as they move into Alzheimer’s care facilities.

 

Ideas to Keep Your Senior Happy In a Nursing Home

 

Make The Transition Easy

Needless to say, moving into a nursing home for seniors can be stressful even for the family. So you need to help them by ensuring that the move will be smooth. Some of them might feel that they are still capable to care for themselves, causing them to think there is no need to leave home.

    • Explain to them that going to move into a nursing home will be helpful for them
    • Bring furniture, pictures, and objects to make their room feel like they are at just at home
    • It would greatly help if the spouse can move in with them

 

Tending To Relationships

Seniors will have the opportunity to build new relationships in nursing homes, as it strengthens old ones. This can improve their health as it promotes happiness. This is because strong relationships can make people happy to prevent physical and mental decline as time passes by.

    • Encourage them to interact with others in Alzheimer’s care facilities
    • Visit as often as possible
    • It would help if friends or neighbors can visit them
    • Any questions or concerns must be addressed to the staff

 

Participate in Activities

Seniors can build relationships with others easily through activities. In fact, regular activities can help them stay in shape, both physically and mentally. Most Alzheimer’s care facilities host activities for the whole day. So, even those suffering from disabilities or illnesses can participate in some activities that are fit for them.

    • Listening to music
    • Petting a cat or dog
    • Reading
    • Walking
    • Playing bingo

 

Maintaining Health Care

If a senior will live in a nursing home, there is a possibility that he or she has an illness or disability that will need long-term care. Thus, you can keep them happy and healthy.

    • Regularly visit your loved one and monitor the health status
    • Voice out your concerns to the staff
    • Take necessary action if things will not improve

It is important to note that happiness and quality of life are synonymous. So seniors can greatly benefit from the help of the staff of the nursing home, other residents, and more specifically the family members.

The next time you want to visit a loved one in Alzheimer’s care facilities, be guided that they too need regular checking so that they will remain safe and content. Take note that the best nursing homes will pay attention to the concerns of their residents so that everybody is satisfied.

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

needs assessment - senior housing

Everything You Need to Know About Needs Assessment for Senior Housing

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As a family member grows older, the need for senior housing becomes inevitable at some point. It is to not only make it easier for the family members who already bear the burden of caring for them. But also to make sure that they get the best quality of care from professionals who specialize in elderly care. But before they can move into this type of living community, a needs assessment should be done by the staff first to know the elderly’s physical, cognitive, and even emotional health.

Most senior housing facilities use an evaluation packet or checklist that will allow healthcare staff to determine the level of care needed by a senior who will be under their care.

Some facilities use a “point system” to rank seniors while others just go through a comprehensive list of questions and base their decisions from the answers.

But in general, healthcare staff will gauge the following areas to make sure that an elderly person gets the care that they need while in senior housing:

 

Level of orientation

In this stage, the senior is gauged according to his level of orientation that will determine if he is at risk for wandering, forgetting things, and getting injured due to memory loss and other cognitive problems that may be related to his current health condition.

The staff specifically assesses for awareness to people, places and time, forgetfulness and occasional confusion, general disorientation and poor judgment, unsafe behaviors, and cognitive deficits.

 

Fall risk

A lot of seniors are victims of accidental falls that may leave them debilitated or worse, dead. This is why it’s very important to determine an elderly’s risk for falls by assessing if he has experienced a fall at home and if he had more than one accident in the last three months.

 

Bathroom independence

The bathroom can be one of the biggest challenges for seniors, especially those who have physical limitations that make it more dangerous for them to take a bath or empty their bowel and bladder alone.

In a senior housing community, seniors are given the assistance that they require when using the bathroom. It is the reason why they are assessed for their level of independence when it comes to emptying their bowel and bladder.

Or if they require prompting to go to the bathroom, or if they have problems with incontinence, if they need to use assistive devices and protective garments or if they need constant assistance when going to the bathroom are some of the factors to be considered.

 

The takeaway

Every senior housing community has the ultimate goal of offering the best possible care to seniors depending on their needs assessment.

This is why a needs assessment is the first step towards moving to senior housing and probably the most important part because it allows healthcare staff to really assess their future residents and set proper expectations for family members.

Doing so will make them enjoy an excellent quality of life by offering them services that fit their exact needs and their current health conditions.

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

assisted living facilities

The Ways Assisted Living Can Promote Memory Improvement in the Elderly

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The elderly population is set to overtake the younger generation in the coming years. This also means that more people will be put into memory assisted living to allow them to live a better quality of life as they deal with health conditions that are related to growing old. Memory loss is one of the most common health conditions suffered by the elderly population.

But memory assisted living facilities can sometimes help improve and preserve the memory of residents through these ways:

 

Adequate sleep

It’s not uncommon for older people to have difficulty sleeping or getting enough hours of sleep each day, especially with the different changes in their body.

But research from the National Sleep Foundation revealed that adequate sleep trigger brain changes that help strengthen memories and move them from the short-term to the long-term.

Memory assisted living facilities to offer the right environment for residents to sleep comfortably for at least 6 to 9 hours every day to strengthen their brain cells and preserve their memory.

 

Memory training

With the goal of helping the elderly keep their memory healthy for the longest time possible, several organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Association of Retired Persons have developed several directives related to memory training.

These include lifestyle modifications in diet and nutrition, physical activities, and cognitive training that allow for the elderly in memory assisted living to keep their memory active.

 

Proper nutrition

A study by the Harvard Health Publications revealed that foods that are highly saturated in fat increase bad cholesterol in the elderly that clog the arteries and cause significant damage to the brain.

This is why memory assisted living facilities don’t only provide the right living environment for residents but also ensure that they get adequate nutrition that’s rich in mono- and polyunsaturated fats to increase good cholesterol levels and keep the brain healthy for a longer time.

 

Mental exercises

One of the biggest benefits of sending an elderly loved one to memory assisted living is the fact that they can be given mental exercises like learning a new skill or practicing a hobby that has been proven to improve memory and cognitive function.

Residents can also stay social with their peers and they are allowed to spend time with family members to maintain and improve their mental health. According to research, a simple 10-minute interaction every day can already help with a senior’s memory in a lot of ways.

 

Quality of Life

Finally, being in memory assisted living allows residents to enjoy an excellent quality of life that would otherwise be difficult for them if they are staying at home with the limitations that they have because of their condition.

This will help them to not only keep their memories but also build new experiences as they enjoy independence without having to worry about daily chores or access to healthcare whenever they need it.

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

air pollution and Alzheimer's

Can Air Pollution Cause Damage to the Brain?

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Air pollution continues to be an unseen crisis around the world. According to new data from the World Health Organization, 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants and at least 7 million people around the world die every year due to exposure from polluted air.

But just as we thought that we’ve already seen the worst effects of air pollution, a new study suggests that it could also cause damages to the brain and even affect neurodevelopment.

This raises cause for concerns, especially for older people in Alzheimer’s care facilities who are already suffering from significant brain damage due to their condition.

 

The Study

Lilian Calderon-Garciduenas, a neuropathologist from the University of Montana studied human brain samples from autopsy examinations in Mexico City as part of her research on the effects of the environment on neural development.

After gathering the samples herself, Calderon-Garciduenas’ colleagues prepared the slides where she identified the proteins amyloid-beta and hyperphosphorylated tau that are both linked to Alzheimer’s disease in all 203 brain samples she studied.

But what raised more concern was the fact that these brains belonged not only to seniors who likely spent time in Alzheimer’s care facilities but also in young adults, teenagers, and even children. She said that the youngest of the subjects was just 11 months old.

Calderon-Garciduenas was devastated and she knew that Mexico City’s notoriously polluted air has something to do with this discovery. What used to only be a theory that air pollution causes damage to the brain can now be backed up by research.

 

The Damage to Neurodevelopment

Although Alzheimer’s disease is common in older people, younger patients who suffer from it raise concerns for health experts. In fact, a report released by the WHO revealed that 93% of children under 15 years old breathe enough polluted air to jeopardize their health. The organization further reported that in 2016, at least 600,000 children died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air.

But the worst news of all is the fact that bad air has some really bad effects on the brains of young children.

A WHO research wrote: “Exposure to air pollutants can negatively affect neurodevelopment, resulting in lower cognitive test outcomes and the development of behavioral disorders such as autism spectrum and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Research suggests that both prenatal and postnatal exposure to air pollution represent threats to neurodevelopment.”

This was also supported by a study conducted among 783 children in the Netherlands, which revealed that exposure to PM2.5, small particulate air pollution was “found to cause structural alterations to the cerebral cortex” by the time these children were aged 6 to 10 years old.

 

The Takeaway

Air pollution is causing serious damage to the brains of both the young and older generations. This should already raise some serious alarms in governments to do something to at least reduce air pollution to secure a better future for everyone.

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

nursing homes

4 Steps to Preventing Infection in Nursing Homes

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The United States is expecting its highest senior population rate as more than 76 million baby boomers enter into retirement. This also means that nursing homes will have to accommodate more residents and that could have a huge impact on the quality of care being given in these facilities, especially in preventing infections.

In the effort to keep the home-like environment in nursing homes, four practices should be implemented to make sure that residents are safe from infections and given the best quality of life possible:

 

Proper Hand Hygiene

Although healthcare workers in nursing homes want to be seen more like friends, they still need to implement strict measures, especially in terms of maintaining good hygiene within themselves and the residents.

Hand hygiene is particularly important for residents before meals and healthcare workers should also practice hand hygiene and wear appropriate gloves when taking care of residents since they’re more vulnerable to infections.

Protective gowns and gloves should also be kept in the rooms of high-risk residents to keep healthcare workers safe while taking care of them.

 

Proper Wound Care

If residents have any open sores or wounds, they need to be cared for properly to avoid infections. Healthcare workers have the responsibility to make sure that their residents don’t incur any injuries or sores, but if they do, they need to be cleaned and covered with a bandage.

Wounds also need to be checked regularly and proper medications should be given for pain and to prevent infection.

 

Proper Isolation

In a regular hospital setting, anyone with an infected wound or uncontrolled secretions would instantly be isolated in a private room and kept from away from other patients.

But in nursing homes, isolating residents could lead to anxiety, depression, and social stigma. This is why healthcare workers need to implement measures that keep residents with infections separated from other residents without fully isolating them or making them feel like they’re in a hospital.

Personal protective equipment like gloves, masks, and gowns should also be readily available for healthcare workers to use in caring for residents.

In the case of an outbreak, however, strict policies need to be implemented to protect the entire community even if it means isolating residents temporarily.

 

Proper Preventive Measures

The most common mode of transmission for infection in nursing homes is through the hands of healthcare workers who spread pathogens as they transfer from one resident to the other.

This is why it’s very important for these facilities to have proper preventive measures among healthcare workers, especially in caring for vulnerable residents who have wounds, infections, and antibiotic-resistance.

As more Americans enter their retirement years, the need to improve the quality of service in nursing homes also becomes more important.

Aside from these four important practices, other measures specific to every institution should be implemented to make sure that all residents are not only safe from infections but also other health conditions that could affect their quality of life.

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

Assisted Living Facilities

Memory Care Assisted Living: Low-Income Options for Seniors

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The baby booming generation is already growing old, so it’s no surprise that the demand for memory care assisted living is set to grow rapidly over the next few years. But there’s also the reality that memory care can be very expensive.

In fact, some data from Genworth’s eldercare cost figures revealed that the median cost of memory care was about $5,000 to $5,250 in 2019. That’s at least $1,000 per month, which is quite pricey even for high-income individuals.

Since there are many low-income seniors in the country, there are already several options in terms of memory care assisted living to give these individuals the best quality of life as they deal with Alzheimer’s and dementia:

 

Mild to moderate memory loss

Seniors with mild to moderate memory loss are usually cared for in an apartment-style assisted living facility where there are trained nurses and health aides to help them with activities of daily living.

Meal programs are also offered for residents so they don’t have to worry about cooking their own food. This type of memory care has the goal of giving residents a safe environment where they can be as independent as possible.

These facilities also offer assistance for residents who may tend to wander or those with maintenance medications.

 

Mid to late-stage dementia

For individuals who are already in the mid to late stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, a skilled nursing facility would be the best option. This is also true for seniors who have other health problems that require skilled nursing care.

Skilled nursing facilities or more commonly known as nursing homes offer more supervisory care for residents as compared to assisted living facilities and the living arrangement is also different.

Residents in this type of memory care assisted living can either stay in a shared or private room, but they will have access to lounge areas, dining rooms and activity areas where they can socialize with other people in a safe environment. A skilled nursing facility also has on-site staff 24/7 to attend to the needs of residents.

Aside from doctors and nurses, some facilities may also have psychiatrists who are trained in working with Alzheimer’s patients to help them with therapies and adherence to medication so they can have a better quality of life.

Since these options still require payment, low-income seniors who can’t afford to stay in these types of memory care assisted living to have the option to remain in their home and just hire a part-time or full-time caregiver.

Seniors may also apply for Medicare and Medicaid assistance in some assisted living facilities to help them with expenses. Although expenses will not be fully covered, they can help ease the financial burden to the family of low-income seniors while still giving them the best quality of life possible as they go through their journey.

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE, and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper