Hiring a Private Caregiver in a Senior Living Community
Senior living communities are on the rise as more and more older adults are choosing to downsize and spend their silver years amongst their peers. It’s no surprise either, as many senior living communities boast of fine dining cuisine, activities galore, full housekeeping, and skilled nursing care as needed. Senior living communities can be a wonderful place for an aging loved one to enjoy their retirement, especially if they’re finding it difficult to maintain their own home. These communities are designed to promote friendship while giving families peace of mind that their loved one is being cared for when they’re not around. However, making the move to a senior living community can be daunting for an older adult. Whether you’re looking to move to a senior living community, or have an aging loved one living in a senior living 
community, here are a few reasons why you should consider hiring a private caregiver in a senior living community setting.
Ease with Transition
As we’ve mentioned above, making the move to a senior living community can cause anxiety for an older adult. There’s a lot of unknowns involved after contracts are signed. Hiring a private caregiver can help ease with this transition, especially if you hire someone before the move happens. Your loved one will have a familiar face to help them navigate their new surroundings. Transition takes time, and family can’t always be there on the hard days. A private caregiver can be there and can help your loved one transition to their new environment.
Private Companionship
A private caregiver can also provide companionship for your aging loved one, even in the senior living community setting. It may be ironic, but many seniors find that they’re lonelier once they move into a senior living community. It can be challenging to make friends, especially if it seems like there are already cliques established. A private caregiver can be a buffer for your loved one, helping your loved one connect with their peers and form lasting friendships.
Keep Familiar Routines
No matter the resident to staff ratio a senior living community brags about, it’s impossible for every resident to have their needs met at the same time in a senior living community. Someone will have to wait, or someone will have to compromise their preferred routine. A private caregiver can alleviate the wait time and help maintain a familiar routine for your aging loved one. They can also escort your loved one outside of the community, so that they can keep their standing hair appointment, or meet friends for lunch, even on days when the community doesn’t provide transportation.
Encourage Participation
Want your loved one to participate in all the amazing activities that the senior living community offers? You should consider hiring a private caregiver to help with this. Sure, the senior living community activity team will invite and encourage your loved one to attend the activities, but they can’t keep a calendar for every single resident. A private caregiver can review the month’s activities with your loved one, and together they can decide on new activities to try. Sometimes all a senior needs is a little encouragement and the reassurance that they have an out should they want to leave the activity. It’s also important to note that if your loved one wasn’t much of a participant prior to moving, then they probably won’t participate in many group activities after the move. A private caregiver can fill their day with one-on-one activities instead.
Allow Spouses to Stay Together
Senior living communities that offer multiple levels of care (independent, assisted living, memory care, or skilled nursing) often boast about the fact that even though two spouses have different care-level needs, they’re still under “one roof.” However, living in two separate apartments based on the individual level of care needs of each spouse isn’t always the preferred solution. A private caregiver can help keep two spouses together, in the same apartment, when such care needs arise. They can also provide a reprieve for the caregiving spouse.
Moving into a new environment is stressful. Fortunately, Visiting Angels Punta Gorda is here to help. We can help your loved one make the transition to a senior living community and be there to maintain their familiar routines. Our elderly companion care services provide social interaction and helping hand that many seniors need in order to live happily and comfortably at home, wherever home is. Companion care is perfect for older adults living in long term care, providing company, conversation, and security of a dedicated caregiver companion. If your loved one is considering moving to a senior living community, contact us today by calling 941-347-8288 Punta Gorda or 239-226S-1620 Cape Coral, so that we can help you make the move as smooth as possible.