Emergencies often strike without warning, and for older adults in assisted living, preparedness is more than a precaution—it’s a lifeline. Whether it’s an earthquake, wildfire, or extended power outage, the strength of a facility’s disaster plan can make all the difference in safety and wellbeing.
Raya’s Paradise Residential Care Communities Blog
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The best assisted living facilities provide nutritious meals designed to help older adults maintain their health and energy. At Raya’s Paradise, we pride ourselves on offering home-cooked food that is both delicious and nutritious. However, as people age or manage chronic illnesses, they may lose their appetite, even with readily available meals. It is essential to keep an eye on your parent’s eating habits during visits to ensure they are receiving proper nutrition.
Our assisted living facilities in Los Angeles feel like home.
Most people are unaware of the key differences between a large assisted living facility, which may house 150 or more residents, and a smaller board and care home.
Understanding these differences is essential to making the right choice for your loved one.
Deciding to enter hospice care is never easy. Everyone involved in the decision may find themselves experiencing regret, sorrow, and confusion about what to expect. While issues of death and dying are always extremely difficult, knowing what to expect can help make the process a little more bearable.
Most know hospice as a form of care for those who are suffering from terminal illness. It’s more than just medical care, however, as clergy and social workers may be part of the hospice team in addition to physicians and nurses. Hospice helps patients and their families come to terms with this difficult event. The main goal of hospice is to make the final days of a dying person’s life as painless and comfortable as possible, while helping to bring about a sense of resolution.
One of the main qualifications in order to be eligible for hospice is that the individual must be expected to live for no longer than six months. In most cases, if the person requires additional time, their physician can extend their care. Hospice can be discontinued if the person receiving it begins to recover.
One of the first steps in going about retaining hospice services is to consult with the loved one’s primary care physician. You can also contact a hospice group or a facility, such as Raya’s Paradise, that provides hospice care. Once a hospice team is assembled, all aspects of the patient’s care will be considered and a comprehensive plan will be developed. This would include the patient’s comfort level, finances, necessary medical care and medication, as well as religious beliefs.
When determining whether hospice is appropriate, physicians will usually use the Karnofsky Performance scale. This is a set of criteria to help evaluate the patient’s general health in order to determine life expectancy. Common diseases that usually resolve in hospice include cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Some may consider opting for hospice to be giving up. This couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, it takes a very strong person to be willing to accept help and support when it’s needed. This is not a matter of giving up, but more of doing what’s necessary at that point in time. Furthermore, by choosing hospice, your loved one will receive increased comfort and support, leading to more fulfilling and meaningful final months of life.
Discussing hospice is never easy. Nobody wants to be the first person to bring up the topic of death and dying. If you or someone you love is considering hospice, it’s important to realize that not saying anything could in fact delay hospice and cause unnecessary pain. Hospice is all about making the last stage of life as comfortable as possible. There’s no point in prolonging discomfort. Take a moment to begin the conversation now and you may help ease the suffering of a loved one.For seniors experiencing memory loss due to conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, memory boxes offer a unique way to help them reconnect with their past. These boxes, filled with personal items and sensory objects, can spark cherished memories and create meaningful interactions.
Memory boxes go beyond words, using touch, sight, and even smell to unlock moments from long ago.
Today, seniors enjoy a wide range of options to choose from when it comes to finding a place to spend their later years. Things haven’t always been this way. In fact, not too long ago, assisted living wasn’t even an option. Prior to the advent of these facilities, older people could only choose between staying at home under the care of a family member or a hired caregiver, or going to a nursing home.
Going to a nursing home was not something one wanted to do, as it often meant forfeiting basic rights, such as the right to privacy. Many times, residents were not permitted to have locks on their doors and would have to share bathrooms. The institutionalized setting and communal bathing and showering areas created an environment all too reminiscent of some of the facilities used to care for the mentally ill. To make matters worse, nursing homes were gaining a reputation for being places where the elderly were frequently mistreated, neglected or even abused.
Dr. Keren Brown Wilson, whose own mother lived in a nursing home, made it her life’s work to develop alternative means to care for the elderly. She was integral in the inception of the first assisted living facility, which would serve as a model for such facilities all across the country. One of Dr. Wilson’s major priorities when developing the assisted living model was to restore the privacy and dignity that were missing in the institutionalized settings of nursing homes. In addition to this, Dr. Wilson made sure that these facilities were adequately staffed with round-the-clock supervision and a more individualized level of care with one-on-one support.
This prototype for a new and innovative way to provide care for the elderly drew attention from many other organizations that then helped turn assisted living into a viable alternative for older adults looking to make the transition to a living situation that provided more support.
The need for supportive living accommodations for seniors is greater than ever, and fortunately, there are a variety of desirable arrangements available. Today’s seniors can choose from different types of assisted living facilities depending on the specific care they need, their budget, and lifestyle choices. Their options, rather than demeaning them at the end of their lives, can help make these years a golden time to enjoy the sunset of their days with few worries.Paying for assisted living is a significant financial commitment that many seniors and their families must navigate carefully. However, there’s good news: many of the expenses associated with assisted living are tax deductible.
These deductions can provide flexibility in your budget and help allocate funds more effectively. By understanding the criteria and keeping thorough records, you can maximize potential tax savings.
Unfortunately, there are some out there who will mistreat those who are vulnerable, including the elderly. At a certain point, it becomes elder abuse, and it’s one of the worst fears of those who have a loved one who is not fully able to fend for themselves. Elder abuse can be inflicted by a staff member in a residential institution, a fellow resident, a hired caregiver in the home, or even a family member. Our seniors deserve our gratitude and our respect, but a significant number of them are victimized and disrespected by the very people they trust. They cannot always do what it required to keep themselves safe.
Elder abuse is under-reported because so few of those who are harmed by it can speak out for themselves. Because of this, it is important that family members, assisted living staff, and friends know the signs and symptoms of elder abuse. Being able to recognize abuse is the first step to putting a stop to it. There are several types, including:
- Malnourishment – refusing to provide required food or water which can lead to serious medical problems, starvation, dehydration, and sometimes death.
- Physical Abuse – committing physically violent acts; punching, kicking, slapping, pushing, and pinching are a few examples.
- Sexual Abuse – committing unwanted sexual acts; molestation, harassment, rape, forced oral sex, and unwelcomed sexual language are considered forms of sexual abuse.
- Financial Abuse – refusing seniors access to their own money, stealing, or embezzling.
- Refusal of Medical Care – refusing them access to their physician, or refusing to provide them with their required treatments or medications.
- Psychological Abuse – verbal abuse, name calling, demoralization, refusing seniors access to psychological care
- Emotional Abuse – refusing them access to loved ones, telling them that no one loves them or wants to visit with them, making them believe that they are alone and utterly unloved.
- Neglect – not providing seniors with the necessary hygienic care (bathing, brushing their hair, changing their diapers), leaving them alone for long periods of time, not providing a clean, safe and comfortable environment (no heat or air conditioning, allowing for filthy living conditions), or allowing others to abuse them.
- Unexplained or poorly explained bruises, broken bones, burns, abrasions, and pressure marks
- Sudden changes in personality not explained by mental illness
- Tension in personal relationships with family, friends, or assisted living staff
- Unexplained withdrawal from activities that used to bring joy
Deciding whether to choose assisted living or home care is tough, and many emotions come up which influence the decision-making process. When you realize that you or a loved one needs some outside help, which option will work better? The answer of course is different for each individual and family, but there are certain considerations that tend to come up again and again.
Two of the key features of assisted living facilities are that they’re designed so that seniors can be as independent as possible while remaining safe, and that they provide services in a cost-efficient manner (since they are shared by several or more people). On the other hand, home care has the undeniable advantage of the senior being able to remain in their home and/or with loved ones.
However, the coziness of home care can also be one of its disadvantages. Having someone in the household with such extensive needs can be a burden for others in the family. We all want to feel like we’re doing as much as we can for aging loved ones, but caregiver burn-out is a real issue. Remember that before you can help others, you must help yourself: if you’re stressed or feeling negative, the senior in your life isn’t getting the best help. Allowing assisted living to take on the chores of daily care may allow you to spend the time connecting with your loved one and enjoying each other’s company.
Another major issue that you should consider is the cost of the two options. Assisted living can be a very affordable solution that gives you a lot of value for your money. Just about all of life’s needs are taken care of in one fee: housing, food, utilities, housekeeping, and social activities, plus the care and assistance that helps the senior get through daily life. Many feel that a lot of worries have been taken off their shoulders when they move to assisted living.
With home care, though, you’re paying on an hourly basis. The average cost of home care in California is $20 per hour, so that adds up quickly even before you throw in other needs like food and housing. Since you are managing home care yourself, you’ll need to have a plan when a hired caregiver cannot come in due to illness or any other reason. This can be addressed by using an agency, but the agency will charge higher-than-average fees for the convenience of knowing someone will always be there.
Again, be sure to take into account your individual needs. There are some situations in which home care may be more appropriate. Before committing to one choice or the other, do thorough research on the actual cost and make sure you truly understand your options. Then this challenging decision may become a little more clear.
Few things can brighten a senior’s day like a visit from their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. These visits can help add purpose to a senior’s life and help them maintain a connection to a world outside the facility and to the family. It also gives the grandchildren a valuable chance to get to know the grandparent. Being able to see how much they mean to older family members is an important experience for the child. But it can be challenging to think of ways to make this time meaningful and enjoyable.
The first step is to prepare the child for visiting the facility. Describe what it’s like and perhaps even show pictures. Explain the purpose of assisted living and why the family decided grandma or grandpa should be there. Explain what behavior will be expected. Be sure to emphasize how happy the senior will be to see the child, but also make sure they know that their grandparent may not be feeling well that day.
What to do during the visit can be a challenge. If everyone just sits around in grandma’s room, it will be boring for the children and unsatisfying for the senior. Instead, have a plan. Here are some ideas:
- Bring children at a time when the residents are socializing. That way, the senior can introduce the child to friends and have a chance to show off their wonderful grandchildren.
- Wear Halloween costumes so that the grandparent can see in person how cute they look and what creative ideas everyone came up with. There may be other holidays where the children are dressing up, such as Purim or Christmas, and they can show their grandparent their special outfits for these times too.
- Have children bring a recent school project that they can show to their grandparent. Seniors are likely to be very interested in seeing what kids are learning in school these days. If the project is about something the senior doesn’t know about, that gives the child a chance to be the teacher.
- Play games. The child can bring a favorite game to share with the grandparent, and it’s likely that the grandparent has a favorite game of their own that they can teach the child.
- Decorate the senior’s room for an upcoming holiday. Decorations often bring out lots of excitement in children, and seniors will feel loved and have a reminder of the visit after the children have left.
- Share riddles and jokes and silly songs. Children might be very interested to hear some of the songs the grandparent remembers from when they were the child’s age.
- Bring photographs or video of a recent event in the child’s life, such as a chorus concert, ball game, or scouting trip. Have the child tell the grandparent stories about what happened.
- If you’re willing to take on a bigger project, talk to the assisted living facility and the child’s school about arranging a class visit. The children could sing for the seniors or perform a skit. Another idea is to have children interview the seniors about their lives, and use the information to write short biographies that can be compiled into a collection for both seniors and the children to keep.