Make the Right Choice

Make the Right Choice
Choosing a senior community that is a good fit for life

Making decisions that impact your health and well-being are difficult, especially when deciding on a place to call home in your senior years. Where do you want to live when the time comes where you need a little assistance, or a lot of care? Often, these decisions come at a time of crisis, leaving them to your family to make on your behalf, which isn’t the best scenario for any of you.

Choosing a senior community now that will meet your needs into the future is a good idea, but it does require some investigation and legwork. We would like to help you set the stage for that by providing some information that will help you find a good fit for yourself and your family. Depending on your physical needs, this could include independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing care, when that need arises.

When you decide to start shopping, we offer these 12 tips for choosing a senior community:

1. Know your budget before you begin looking to save time and legwork
2. Ask about the basics: security, safety, cleanliness, meals, and activities
3. Ask about the extras: opportunities for shopping, entertainment, and worship
4. Find out what amenities are offered, such as a hair salon and transportation
5. Ask if compassion is sought in their hiring process and how it is shown to residents
6. Ask about retention of staff and the training they receive
7. Find out how they welcome new residents
8. Find out what influence residents have on activities, menus, care, etc.
9. Define the role families play in the life of their residents
10. Ask how they determine if a resident is happy

When you finish shopping, ask yourself these questions about your top 3 communities:

1. Is this the best location for me and my family?
2. How will this community meet my medical needs?
3. How will this community meet my physical, emotional, and spiritual needs?
4. Will my quality of life improve here?

We would love for you to choose Catholic Eldercare. To learn more about our dedication to the health and well-being of our residents, we invite you to read our latest issue of Connections Magazine, a publication of Catholic Eldercare. Within the pages, you will find stories of love, celebration, and dedication. You will meet three of our nurses who care deeply about the health and happiness of our residents, and you will learn about some exciting things happening within our community. You also won’t want to miss our own Chef Larry’s recipe for Basil Pesto Chicken with Penne Pasta.

Email Robin Haenze at rhaenze@catholiceldercare.org or call her at 612-277-2902 to schedule a time to stop by and pick up a hard copy of the magazine. And if you have the time, she would love to give you a tour of our communities! If you don’t have time, let us know, and we’ll come up with another plan.