Tips For Planning A Smooth Transition To A Senior Living Community

All of us would want to take care of our parents as they get older but unfortunately, most of us cannot afford the time for the same. Senior living is definitely one of the best solutions in cases like this. When people hear the word ‘senior living’, they usually think of an old age home but it is so much more than that. Senior living will help your parents live their best life without worrying about depending on you too much. It also gives them a chance to mingle and socialize with people of the same age.

But regardless of how good the facility can be for your parents, coming to the decision and acting on it can be quite tough on you and your folks. There is a lot involved in actually making the move and it’s not always easy. From visiting the facility beforehand to making this their second home, there are a lot of things involved in making this as easy as it can get. In this article, we will be looking into tips that will help you move your parents to senior living facility without any hassle.

Tips for a smooth transition to a senior living community!

• Documentation & Medication Details– Ensure you have all the KYC documents i.e. Aadhar Card, PAN Card ready at the time of admission. This will ensure that the admission process goes smoothly. It’s important that you submit medical history as the caretakers need to be aware of every tiny medical condition in order to offer the best care for your parents. Also it would be useful to list out your parent’s food habits, if they have food allergy or they are particular on certain things like less spice or oil.  These are all important things to look after to make them comfortable.

• Recreate Familiar Environment- It is important for your parents to feel at home when they move to a new place and the best way to ensure that happens is by recreating a similar environment to that of your home. Putting up pictures of your family, having their favourite wall art and decorative pieces in the room, and even their favourite quilt will help make them feel at home. You can also take it a step ahead and make something for them that they can keep in their room, a personal touch always helps.

• Plan a housewarming Party- Plan a housewarming party for your parents before they move into the facility. This will be more of an ice breaker session where they can interact with other residents of the facility and make friends. Good food, music, and fun games can be arranged as part of the ice breaker session. It’s important that you participate in the session to ensure everything goes perfectly.

• Spend quality time and Schedule Family Visits- This can be a very hard decision for the both of you and hence, it’s important that you spend as much time as you can with each other. While you can still visit them and spend time with them when they are at the community, it’s still nice to spend quality time before they make the move. Your parents should know that you will always be there for them regardless of the fact you do not live together anymore. Ensure that you schedule frequent visits to the facility and be consistent with them. This will show that the equation between you and your parents hasn’t changed regardless of the situation.