How Assisted Living Care Helps Maintain Independence Among Seniors

An assisted living facility offers more than occasional assistance to the people who call it home. It offers a lifeline to maintain independence and assist residents in doing for themselves when they can. It does this while providing the safety net of help nearby for the things they cannot do for themselves. These are just a few of the ways assisted living care helps seniors maintain more independence.

Working With Residents to Explore New Approaches for Challenging Activities

For instance, some seniors with arthritic hands may struggle with things like buttons and snaps. The staff members at an assisted living center understand the struggle. However, they also understand the need for people to have small victories throughout the day. They may recommend adaptive clothing choices such as the following:

  • Shirts with magnets instead of buttons.
  • Pants with velcro instead of buttons and zippers.
  • Elastic pants or knits.
  • Zip-front dresses with easy-pull zippers.
  • Velcro closure shoes.

These clothing items encourage independence, provide small victories throughout the day, and promote greater independence for assisted living residents.

Exercise Classes and Other Activities Designed for Mobility Impaired Residents

Whether seniors suffer from a limited range of motion that makes dressing difficult or they are confined to wheelchairs for various reasons, they still need exercise and movement to maintain optimal health.

More importantly, working with weakened muscles can help improve range of motion, build strength, and may even contribute to restoring some lost mobility. Ultimately, these classes encourage greater independence among residents of assisted living communities.

Medication Management Assistance

Perhaps one of the most important ways assisted living centers help residents maintain greater independence is through essential medication management. With many aging seniors taking multiple medications daily, it can get a little confusing. Vital medications can be forgotten and mistakes can happen, such as double doses, taking the wrong medications at the wrong time of day, etc.

Assisted living communities have nurses on hand to assist patients with medication management so that they get the correct doses at the right time, every time. This practice helps to maximize the potential of these medications and keep patients healthier, longer.

The decision to move to an assisted living community is rarely an easy choice for aging seniors. No one likes to admit they need help. However, living in a caring environment that offers some medical supervision and assistance when needed can improve quality of life, extend independence and autonomy, and help aging seniors improve their overall health and wellbeing.

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