How Assisted Living Enhances Quality of Life
Rehabilitation is a word many people don’t want to hear, at least not when it’s about themselves. For seniors, though, rehabilitation may very well be necessary following major surgery, medical complications, health issues, or injuries. Where an aging senior does receive proper rehabilitation can make a world of difference in their quality of life. Living at an assisted living facility can offer such support.
What is the quality of life?
Essentially, quality of life refers to contentment for an individual. What one person considers a “good” quality of life another may feel unfulfilled. Each person is different, so how do seniors focus on the right type of elder care and also enjoy a higher quality of life, especially when they need rehabilitative services or basic everyday support?
Turn to assisted living.
Assisted living is arguably one of the best elder care services available. It is designed not just to support seniors as they get older, as they deal with increasing health issues, limited mobility, or recovery challenges, but also to help improve their quality of life.
Depending on the assisted living community an aging person chooses, they may have a wide range of options available for entertainment, activity, and basic support. Staff members at a quality assisted living facility will be well trained in supporting aging men and women through a wide range of challenges, including recovering from a major medical crisis like a heart attack or stroke, supporting them as they deal with the loss of a spouse or other close loved one, and helping them manage activities of daily life.
What kind of rehabilitative services does an assisted living facility provide?
That depends on the facility. Each one is different. For example, one assisted living community may be considered a ‘memory care’ facility. That means they would be ideal for those who are dealing with dementia, including Alzheimer’s or other memory-related challenges. Not all assisted living facilities are equipped to handle these types of difficulties. Still, ones that are specifically memory care should be able to support those seniors dealing with memory loss or other similar brain-related challenges.
Some assisted living facilities may welcome physical therapists on site. That means residents would be able to work with a physical therapist or perhaps an occupational therapist as they recover from surgery, a stroke, or other ailment that has left them struggling to maintain quality of life as they had before.
How important is quality of life to seniors?
Perhaps the better question is, ‘How important is it to you?’ It’s easy to assume that just because somebody has reached their 70s or 80s just being alive, being able to talk to family once in a while, reading a book, watching an old classic movie on the TV screen, or something else is enough.
That may very well be enough for some people, but not everyone. Since each person defines the quality of life differently, it becomes vital that seniors look at all options, activities, and support services that a specific assisted living facility offers before they choose for themselves.