Leslie Newlife

Moving to Assisted Living: Factors to Consider

Assisted living facilities provide care for seniors who need help with their basic living tasks, with structured help in an environment that is conducive to senior living. These communities help families and caregivers who are no longer able to provide the level of care that is required for their loved one.

Even with 30,000 assisted living communities that can cater to over 0ne million seniors, there is still a shortage of senior care facilities with the population aging and living longer.

Elderly Care Cost

The cost of elder care is a major factor when it comes to choosing the kind of senior care that is required.

The basic cost of an assisted living community will range from $2,000 to $6,000 per month. Costs will vary from location to location, state to state, and the level of care that is required, so shop around to find the home that will work within your budget. 

Assisted living communities will provide living accommodations, cooking, housekeeping, transportation, and care for seniors, the basic duties will be bathing, eating, dressing, and taking medications.

The difference between a nursing home and an assisted living facility is that a nursing home will have 24-hour medical care for its residents, while with assisted living, residents can still live independently, but they will need some help with their daily activities, and live in a safe environment.

There are move-in fees and administration fees when you move your loved one into an assisted living home so it is important to ask how much these fees are.

Also keep in mind that the majority of expenses are out-of-pocket and paid for by the family since most insurance does not cover the cost of assisted living.

Some long-term care insurance policies cover the costs of an assisted living facility so it is best to look at the policy and see what services insurance will pay for.

Choosing the Right Assisted Living Community

Look for assisted living communities that are close to you so it will be convenient to visit your loved one. You can ask friends and healthcare professionals for referrals or search online.

It is important to visit more than one community so you can have a better idea of what would be a good fit for your loved one.

See what activities, outings, and other social events the homes provide to see if your loved one will enjoy the home.

Ask the assisted living home about the levels of staff training, the ratio of employees to residents, and continuing education efforts.

Have a conversation with your loved one about why it is the right time for assisted living and focus on the positive items, such as the activities, a built-in social life, and a safer environment.

It is important for them to understand why it is the best thing and make sure that they are comfortable with the decision.

Top Ways a Nursing Career Is Rewarding


Nurses are individuals that care a great deal about other people and have a strong desire to help them and make a difference in their life. Nurses are kind, organized, emotionally stable, and empathetic. Nursing is a hard career; one that is physically and mentally demanding, but it comes with many rewards that make it worth it for many individuals. 

You Get to Help People

Most people get into nursing because they want to help others. It’s extremely satisfying being able to make a positive impact on someone’s life, especially when it comes to their health. Being able to save lives makes nursing a very meaningful career. 

Nurses are those that not only work to assist with providing treatment for the various medical conditions the patients are going through but they are responsible for calming the customer down and making them comfortable. Nurses get to connect with patients and gain their trust. 

You Can Travel 

Being a nurse doesn’t mean you’re stuck in one hospital or healthcare facility. If you become a travel nurse, you have the opportunity to travel to health care facilities that may need extra nurses for various reasons. 

As a travel nurse, you’ll have to go through the normal education and training, but then you’ll be able to sign a contract with one of the many travel healthcare companies. You’ll have a contract to work in a certain unit, but if staffing is a concern, you may have the opportunity to work in another area instead. Since you’re filling in gaps in these healthcare facilities, you may not end up with your desired hours, but getting to change locations can be exciting for some because it helps to mix things up and allows you to meet new people along the way. 

Being Able to Grow

There’s no shortage of growth opportunities when it comes to being a nurse. Nurses are always going to be needed and there’s always going to be job security. The good thing about nursing is that you don’t have to be stuck in one spot forever, you can grow and explore other opportunities if you so wish. There are many ways to grow as a nurse, including going back to school to obtain an advanced degree or participating in continuing education opportunities. 

You Can Choose a Specialty 

As a nurse, you can choose what you’re good at and what you’re most passionate about. Nurses have the opportunity to pick a specialty and focus on that throughout their careers. If you’re looking for advancement or just the opportunity to work in another area and increase your skills, you’re able to switch specialties. Some of the most fast-growing specialties nurses can choose from include: 

  • Acute care nurse 
  • Pediatric nurse 
  • Trauma nurse 
  • Psychiatric mental health nurse 
  • Nurse researcher 
  • School nurse 
  • Public health nurse 
  • Family nurse practitioner 
  • Dialysis nurse 
  • Invention control and prevention nurse 
  • Nurse midwife 
  • Clinical nurse 
  • Neonatal nurse 

Picking a specialty isn’t something a nurse has to worry about right away if they’re unsure. They can take their time to come up with what stands out most to them. Alternatively, if they already know what area they want to specialize in, a search for something like how to become a clinical nurse specialist will provide them with the answers they need to get on the right path.
Flexibility 

Nurses work long hours, but the long hours usually mean nurses work fewer days per week. A nurse is someone that can work anywhere from 10 to 40 or more hours per week, sometimes needing to work overtime to cover shifts and holidays. 

Nurses are needed around the clock, making it possible to land on an ideal shift. Nurses can work three 12-hour shifts, four 10-hour shifts, five 8-hour shifts, or on an as-needed basis. Working longer hours per day means you’ll have more days off during the week to spend with your family and friends and for enjoying the things you love to do. 

Nurses will have good and bad days. Some days will be more challenging for others. Still, it’s a very rewarding career because of how many lives you’ll touch along the way.

The Benefits of Small Aquariums for Seniors

People who live in assisted living facilities need help performing essential, day-to-day functions. They also need a variety of activities throughout the day for mental and physical stimulation. Small aquariums have those benefits for seniors, as they give seniors the opportunity to watch, care for, and engage with the fish.

They Can Be Manageable

When people think of fish tanks, they immediately imagine one of two things: the tiny fishbowl containing one little goldfish or the super complicated 80-gallon tank teeming with exotic fish. These are potential options—though tiny fishbowls are not great for the fish—but the best option for those living in an assisted living facility would be something more manageable, like a 30-gallon fish tank. These tanks are great because they are easy to set up, great for beginners, and capable of holding a wide variety of different fish.

It Helps Them Stay Active

Those living in assisted living facilities have a very monotonous schedule as they typically do many of the same things every day. There is some variety with different events, but the monotony of things can make the days blend together. A way to keep them active and excited for the next day is with a fish tank. You need to feed fish and maintain their tanks regularly. A good senior care facility makes sure their residents stay active, and the responsibility of taking care of fish is a great way to do this. It gives them renewed purpose as they are caring for something while they are also being cared for.

Aquariums Help with Memory

Maintaining fish and an aquarium keeps seniors active, but it can also help with memory. A daily routine that includes feeding the fish at specific times can turn seniors from passive into active individuals, both physically and mentally. Also, there is a child-like joy in seeing animals play and be active. Being around fish might remind you of times in childhood when you were around similar animals.

There are many benefits to having small aquariums for seniors, and this list is just the tip of the iceberg. Being around life, color, and movement is mentally stimulating, but it can also be calming. Fish swim at their own pace and don’t fret about the world around them, silently encouraging others to do the same.

5 Tips for Making a House Wheelchair-Safe

Using a wheelchair comes with difficulties in certain places, as not all areas are easily accessible. These areas may need specific features and structures to assist people in wheelchairs. Even using a wheelchair around the house can also be a challenge, and specific measures are required to make the home safe. Here are five tips for making a house wheelchair-safe.

Install Ramps

Wherever there are stairs in or around the house, you must put ramps in their place. Ramps are vital parts of making a house wheelchair-safe, allowing access to different levels of the home and make moving through the house simpler. Metal ramps with rubber strips are relatively simple to assemble, so implementation shouldn’t cause problems.

Place Necessary Items on Lower Shelves

People in wheelchairs often have difficulty reaching objects on high shelves, and using a pole-reacher creates the risk of an object falling and injuring the person. Placing necessary items on lower shelves will make grabbing those items easier for people in wheelchairs.

Install Safety Rails

Safety rails are essential when you’re making a house wheelchair-safe. These rails offer great help for individuals who are at risk of falls or who have trouble moving around, especially when combined with the use of items that detect falls. Safety rails are essential on and around stairwells, in bathrooms near the toilet and shower, and in kitchens by the sink.

Reconstruct the Tub

The tub walls will make getting into and out of the shower difficult for people in wheelchairs. If you reconstruct the bathtub by knocking down the walls closer to the floor, it will be a straightforward process of getting out of the wheelchair and into a shower chair.

Get Rid of Doorknobs

For people in wheelchairs, finagling with a doorknob to get into a room is annoying. Having to turn the knob before pulling or pushing the door—all while attempting to control the wheelchair—will cause a great deal of hindrance. Removing doorknobs and making doors easy to open and close with just one push will simplify entering rooms.

Using a wheelchair around the home takes time and effort, but with these tips, moving around the house will be an easy process for you and yours.

Things to Look for When Choosing a Home Health Care Provider

Caregiver burnout is a common condition that is faced by a majority of people who are caring for a sick, disabled or elderly family member. It can manifest in overwhelming stress, anxiety, poor sleep, inability to focus on your job and other responsibilities. This often leads to guilt, and people push themselves harder, take vitamins and trace minerals supplements, even sacrifice sleep to try doing a better job. Stretching yourself thin will not only aggravate your distress, it will also transfer your anxiety, making the entire situation much more exhausting. Hiring a good home health care provider is the best solution. It will relieve your stress, and ensure quality care and emergency help for your loved family member and improve your own mental health. Here are a few things to look into while choosing a home health care provider.

Qualifications

The first and foremost thing you need to ensure is that the caregiver you are hiring is licensed and qualified to do the job. Monitoring, feeding timely medicines, keeping the patient clean or changing are only some of the visible parts of the job, but what people can not see is the expertise that comes with their training. A qualified home healthcare provider is trained to not only take care of the needs of the patient, but also equipped and prepared to handle any emergency that arises until medical help arrives. A majority of home care programs include essential first aid and medical training to keep the patient stable, which is a crucial skill to look for.

Specialization And Experience

Every patient has their specific needs. While some require a bit of assistance and monitoring, some are heavily dependent on their caregivers for even the most basic needs. Care providers are specialized in providing care for different kinds of cases, such as elderly patients, people with disabilities, non-verbal neurodivergent individuals, persons with minimal mobility, non-cooperative or violent individuals, terminal patients, children, infants etc. They are equipped to handle specific issues or emergencies that come with their niche job. Inquire about their field of specialization, and experience of working with similar cases to help ensure your loved one proper care.

Background Check

Inviting a stranger into your home to take care of your loved ones is an immense test of trust, more so if they live alone or spend larger part of the day with no one else at home. Therefore, it is crucial that you do a thorough background check of the person before you employ them. A verification of their license, work history record, address and reference checks, as well as any past criminal or negligence records are some of the common things to look into. The safest bet is to hire a home care provider through a reliable agency or service, which does a complete background check of every employee before they are on-board.

Reviews and recommendations

A reliable way to know about your home healthcare provider’s work ethics, sincerity and quality of service is via reviews from their previous clients. Most well reviewed healthcare workers and agencies would be happy to point you towards the reviews they have received. You should, however, do a little bit of research yourself as well. Check your local health forums and community support groups to connect with their previous clients, who can share their own experience, and guide you the best. Social media is also an excellent platform  to find recommendations and reviews on your shortlisted candidates for home healthcare provider.

Comfort Level

At the end of the day, it is your loved one, who will be spending a larger part of their day with the home health care provider you hire, so their ease and comfort with the person should be high on your priority list. If possible, try to involve the person needing care in the process of hiring their own caregiver. This helps establish a basic sense of familiarity beforehand, and also helps you gauge the basic comfort level of both parties with each other. Moreover, it makes your family member feel more confident when they have a hand in the process of hiring, and also, it offers the caregiver a chance to get to know the patient. Once both parties have established an easy relation, it will be easier for you, knowing your loved one is in good hands.

Terms of service

Go over the terms of service before finalizing the hiring. Make sure you explain in absolute clear terms what exactly the job entails and how you expect the caregiver to go about it. It is vital that you do not hide any medical conditions, specific needs or behavioral issues that the patient has. In order to provide a good service, the caregiver needs to be aware of the actual situation, and thus, prepare accordingly. On the other hand, be extremely thorough in knowing every little detail of the service that you will be provided, so as to come to an agreeable set of terms and conditions, which benefit both parties.

Alternative Arrangements

A very important factor that most people forget is the options of alternative arrangements in case the home healthcare professional needs a break, is unwell or cannot make it to work. Unplanned situations happen, and hence, it is a good idea to plan ahead and be prepared about it. Ask your caregiver if they can offer you any alternative arrangements for times when they are unable to provide service. Check with the caregiver or agency, if the said arrangement will be included in package, or against extra payment.

Finding a home health care provider is a terrifying task as you will always worry that no one will ever be as good as you. It is important to understand that a professional is trained and equipped to offer care and handle any emergencies. You need let go of your fear, and do your research to find the most suitable caregiver for your need

4 Must-Have Travel Items for Seniors

Many people choose to travel the globe during their retirement. You’ve worked hard your whole life, saved and sacrificed, and now it’s time to enjoy the years and fruits of your labor. While there are plenty of things that each unique individual needs to have on their packing lists, there are also critical items that are must-haves if you’re traveling as a senior. With springtime upon us and summer right around the corner, you likely have some vacations lined up, so it’s essential to have all your ducks in a row before you board your plane or hop on the train. Let’s look at some critical must-have travel items as you embark on your adventures!

Your Medical Essentials 

You don’t have to be a senior to be someone that relies on prescribed medications they take every day to stay healthy. You want to make sure that you have all of your daily medications and supplements packed neatly and in a place accessible to you. You may already utilize Pill organizers, so it’s worth getting another one to take on your trip with you. If you have enough on hand from your doctor – or you could let them know about the length of your trip to get extra prescribed – it’s also worth taking extras and keeping them in a separate bag from the first set. If anything gets lost or stolen, you’re still not without your essential medication. 

Rolling Luggage

When you think about your carry-on bag, you may not need much more than a sturdy strap, but things get different when it comes to your check in luggage. It’s best if you have a suitcase that rolls easily and isn’t putting strain on your joints and muscles. Even if you’re traveling with companions who could carry your traditional suitcase for you, they’ll have their own luggage. So, investing in a high-quality rolling suitcase that you can maneuver on your own is worth it – especially if you travel a lot. Make sure you test the product to be confident its zippers, handles, and any other mechanisms are easy for you to use. Rolling suitcases are a gamechanger and well worth it for your trip.

Hands-Free Bags 

With all the sightseeing and excursions you’ll likely be involved in, you’ll have to have a bag that you can bring with you but doesn’t get in your way. Just because you’ve booked an all-day package for something doesn’t mean you won’t still need to take medication, need identification, or anything else you use in a day. The best bags for you while you’re out and about in the new city you’ve traveled to, are fannypacks or backpacks. While backpacks take a little more effort to take on and off, they can carry more. Fannypacks keep everything right at waist level and accessible through a zipper, making them more convenient. Make your decision based on how much you will need during the day and how long you’ll be away from your hotel room or resort. You could also take both and swap them out depending on what the day brings. 

Reusable Water Bottles 

If you’re doing your traveling during the summer months, you’ll want to make sure you’re staying adequately hydrated. Being out in the sun is excellent for our health but can quickly lead to dehydration if you’re not keeping sufficiently hydrated. The best way to ensure you’re getting your recommended daily water intake is to travel with a reusable water bottle. They even make slings that make carrying your bottle around with you all day a breeze. Additionally, since your bottle is reusable, you can fill it up throughout the day at various restaurants, museums, shopping malls, or anywhere else there is a clean water source. 

Traveling is one of the greatest joys and life; making it to your golden years is something worth celebrating. Celebrating through travel is a way to enrich your life by experiencing new cultures, making new friends, and staying social. Not to mention it’s excellent for your health! Studies have shown those who take regular vacations are at a significantly decreased risk for stroke and cardiovascular issues. So, make sure you add the above-mentioned items to your travel lists this year and enjoy the ride. Happy trails!

Calming Crystals for Our Elderly Loved Ones

A senior’s life is rich with the treasures accumulated through a lifetime of living. Family and friends can make aging more enjoyable, but many difficulties come with age.

On the other hand, being a senior citizen has a slew of disadvantages. It’s not uncommon for these folks to have physical ailments such as joint discomfort or back pain and high or low blood pressure or cardiac difficulties. Emotional distress is a factor in a small number of cases, and it should not be undervalued.

To help our elderly loved ones, we must provide them with support or counsel. However, you may assist your physical well-being by learning to harness the energy around you daily. As mentioned by ZenandStone.com, the earth’s human tendencies can be harnessed through the use of crystals. 

Give your elderly loved one a gift of light and love with the help of the crystals listed below.

Aquamarine

As you become older, you risk losing some of your vision’s acuity. Unlike a surgical procedure, Aquamarine is an excellent gemstone for promoting mental clarity and relaxation. A high-quality Aquamarine stone is a fantastic stress reliever since it may absorb some of the problematic or stressful energy that our elderly loved ones experience as they age.

Amethyst

The therapeutic properties of Amethyst are well-known. Seniors can benefit significantly from this master healer. As a start, Amethyst’s healing powers can assist a person in transforming their negative energy into positive ones, allowing them to better deal with emotions like wrath, fear, and worry. Positive feelings can be generated from unpleasant emotions like wrath and anxiety.

Rose quartz

Rose Quartz is the crystal for you for those of us who are in our golden years. It helps us tap into the abundance of love around us. Anyone of any age may benefit significantly from the power of love, and Rose Quartz is a powerful tool for conveying that love. Because love is an action verb, give a high-quality Rose Quartz gem as a token of your affection.

Lepidolite

As you become older, you will have to deal with more and more change, and accepting that change can be difficult. Lepidolite is the most delicate stone for a loved one struggling to adapt to a new way of life, especially if they are elderly. It is also known as the “stone of transition” since it aids in releasing and rearranging old behavioral and psychological patterns.

Stress and depression are soothed and reduced with the help of this stone’s emotional healing properties. For smooth transitions, Lepidolite is an excellent stone. This gemstone is a useful aid in rewriting one’s thoughts.

Amazonite

Amazonite is well-known for its ability to help those who possess it to heal both physically and emotionally. With the power of an Amazonite stone, it’s easy to offer your elderly loved one the gift of well-being.

It’s everything here! These five stunning stones are likely to brighten the day of your senior loved ones and inspire them to choose a better lifestyle. With the correct selection of gemstones, you may easily filter out the unpleasant energies that pollute your life force. Invest in an older loved one’s power pack today.

Easy Ways to Do Physical Therapy at Home for Seniors

Maintaining physical well-being is especially important as a senior. Physical therapy is an excellent tool for prevention instead of treatment. Suppose physical therapy treatments are unavailable to you or your physical mobility limits you. In that case, you can easily incorporate these routines and movements as a part of your home care.

Chair Yoga

Chair yoga is one of the many easy ways for seniors to improve their mobility from home. It only requires a chair and a few minutes doing specialized poses and movements for improved posture and physical health. If you’re a senior who struggles with mobility and getting around the house, this stationary exercise is perfect for you. You can easily find videos online or printable instructions on how to perform the chair yoga exercises.

Resistance Band Workouts

Another easy way to do physical therapy at home is by using resistance bands. Resistance bands are stretchy elastic bands that create resistance when you apply tension. You can apply tension by pulling the ends of the bands in opposite directions. The best part about this workout is that you can use it on the arms or legs while standing in one spot.

This form of therapy is excellent for building strength and stretching out tense muscles, and it’s a cheap and safe method of PT at home. There are plenty of instructional videos for resistance band exercises online.

Dynamic Stretching

Stretching is an essential kind of physical therapy and is one of many fall prevention exercises. There are many benefits of stretching, including improved posture, mobility, joint health, circulation, and relaxation, among many more. Dynamic stretching explicitly requires a bit of movement to the stretch, which helps warm up the muscles and prepare them for exercise or strenuous activity. Swinging your leg back and forth, for example, is an excellent dynamic stretch.

Power Walking

Power walking is another easy way to do physical therapy at home. You can power walk anywhere at any time with no equipment. Power walking refers to the effort put into walking by increasing pace, rigor, or speed. You can add light weights to your walk to increase the difficulty and boost your heart rate, which is great for circulation. Try power walking laps around your home or even in your driveway to increase your steps for the day.

Retiring Abroad: The Pros and Cons

Finding a special place in the sun and retiring abroad is a dream for many. Retiring overseas offers many benefits for those who can make it work. In this post we’re going to examine the questions of why retire abroad and offer some insight into how to prepare for retiring abroad. We will also look at the pros and cons of, as well as the costs of retiring abroad. Read on to find out more!

Why Retire Abroad?

First let’s look at the reasons why people retire abroad to begin with.

● Change of Pace

After a lifetime living, working and grinding in America, many retirees simply feel ready for a change of scenery and a more relaxed pace of life. Whilst there are many great things about life in the US, there is no denying that it is a high pressure, high stress society. On the other hand, in dream retirement destinations like Greece, Thailand and Mexico, the pace of life is typically a lot gentler and people take the time to enjoy themselves.

● Weather

Then there is the weather. Cities like New York experience harsh, cold winters and stifling hot summers. Aside from being plain unpleasant, these conditions can actually be dangerous for us the older we get and each year. Seniors die either in cold snaps or in heat waves. This is why many Americans aspire to retire to the parts of the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia or Latin America where the climate is kinder and more temperate.

● Money

Then of course there are the cost benefits involved. The US is amongst the most expensive countries in the world and life here is only getting more expensive. Remember that a retired person has to ensure that their pension and savings lasts them the remainder of their days but unfortunately, the rising costs of American life could drain through it prematurely.

Countries like the Philippines, Thailand and Belize are comparatively very cheap to live and that American pension will go a lot further – especially considering the $1000’s of dollars saved each in heating costs.

The Challenges of Retiring Overseas

While retiring abroad is a dream for many and can work out very well, it is not exactly straightforward. There are actually many challenges involved in retiring abroad which must be overcome along with some other drawbacks which retirees may simply have to accept.

● Homesickness & Family Issues

Moving abroad can be wonderful and even as a retiree, it is possible to begin a new and enriching chapter of one’s life. However, even the happiest, most settled ex-pat will feel some homesickness and will miss something about the US. Bouts of homesickness do tend to come and go and are usually not severe enough to make anybody seriously regret their move.

However, missing family members is a different beast. This can be particularly hard to take if our children are having children of their own – watching grandkids grow up via a Zoom meeting is not the same as been there and teaching them how to fish.

● Stability

Most retirees aim to re-settle in the developing world and developing countries do experience instability from time to time. Political coups, civil wars and civic disorder are rare, but not unheard of in the developing world and these issues can cause huge problems for expats, especially ones who are perhaps not as healthy and exuberant as they used to be.

● Healthcare

Before moving abroad, any retiree needs to educate themselves about the healthcare standards in their new home. Our health deteriorates as we age and the likelihood is that we will need more medical care in our twilight years than in the rest of our lives.

Many countries have excellent private healthcare facilities that expats can usually comfortably afford but it is crucial to look into this before making any move.

● Costs of Retiring Abroad

Retiring abroad can be seriously expensive. Firstly there are the associated costs of buying or leasing a property including local lawyer and translation fees and then there is the cost of moving one’s personal possessions to another country – transporting a shipping container generally costs thousands of bucks.

On the other hand, it may work out cheaper to leave personal possessions behind and simply buy them or rent them again.

● Taxation

American citizens are legally obliged to pay their taxes in the US regardless of where they live or earn money. However this does not necessarily exempt them from paying local taxes which means a lot of American expats (whether working or retiring abroad) pay taxes twice. This can of course prove impossible for some pensioners who simply cannot afford it.

● Transfer Fees

Moving one’s money from the US to another country can be expensive. Foreign transfer fees can be high and really add up when it’s large sums of money. As such, moving an American pension into a Thai, Greek or Mexican bank account can put a serious dent in its value. That said there are ways to cut costs here and ultimately, it will usually prove to be a price worth paying.

Final Thoughts on How to Prepare For Retiring Abroad

For sure, retiring abroad remains a dream for many. Retiring overseas can offer a better standard of life than spending one’s autumnal years in the US so it is easy to understand why retire abroad. In this guide we have hopefully shown you how to prepare for retiring abroad and offered something of a heads up about the costs of retiring abroad. So why not make that dream come true?!

Must-Bring Items When Moving Your Loved One into a Nursing Home

Moving your loved one into a nursing home can be incredibly stressful, both for you and your loved one. To make the process easier, knowing which items are essential for them to live a comfortable, productive life is critical. After all, this is the next step in their lives, and you’ll need to help emphasize how this is not some type of preparation for the end. To ensure you can perform this critical step of their transition effectively, here are some must bring items when moving your loved one into a nursing home:

Personal Care Items

Having the basics is key to living a comfortable life. Packing deodorant, razors, aftershave, lotions, and other important personal care items for your loved one will keep them happy, healthy, and clean. Especially as they are adjusting to their new community, cleanliness will help them feel confident as they work to make new friends. If your loved one needs help keeping themselves groomed, letting the staff know about your loved one’s preferences in this area is highly recommended.

Electronics

There are more electronic entertainment options than ever before in today’s high-tech world. While there will be plenty of community events for your loved one to enjoy in their new community, quality personal time is also crucial. Tablets, computers, and smartphones can also make it simple for your loved one to keep in contact with their family. Just make sure you tell them to limit their screentime to a reasonable amount.

Decorations

Nothing can make you feel displaced quite like a new living space. However, if you decorate that new living space with personal items and images that mean a lot to you, it’s easy to adjust. Helping your loved one pick out the decorations that will keep their new room as cozy as can be will make their transition that much smoother.

Keepsakes

Speaking of decorating, valuable keepsakes are another key category of items that will ensure your loved one has a comfortable transition into their new home. Family heirlooms, pictures of their family and pets, and other nostalgic items are a necessity. Once again, helping your loved one pick out the most crucial keepsakes will be critical. If they cannot bring everything with them, be sure to help them secure a place to store the remaining keepsakes. Who knows, they may want to redecorate their room sometime in the near future.

Books, Books, Books

Older generations are especially fond of reading. Reading is not only relaxing, but it helps to keep the mind active and growing (and can even help fight off the effects of dementia)! Grab a nice bookshelf for your loved one’s room, grab their favorite stories and add a healthy stack of to-be-read books and they’ll have a healthy, immersive source of entertainment to enjoy. Your loved one can even continue their education in areas they love with the right books at their side. Access to quality books can help cut down on their screen time as well!

Casual Outfits

Comfortable outfits for hanging around their rooms will make up a large portion of your loved one’s wardrobe in the nursing home. However, making sure they have flashier, more socially appropriate outfits to wear to social gatherings and community events is important as well. Not only will this help them retain their individuality, but it will give them the confidence they need to help spotlight their fantastic personality.

Non-Slip Slippers & Bathrobes

Bathtime is one of the most critical everyday events at nursing homes. It can also be one of the most complicated, as many residents need assistance when bathing. Whether your loved one needs assistance or not, two items will help keep their bathtime safer and more comfortable: non-slip slippers and bathrobes. Keeping them from falling in the shower will ensure they never find themselves injured during this should-be-calming everyday activity.

Storage Containers

Bookshelves are not the only storage necessity your loved one will need. Compact, easy-to-store containers for their clothes, personal items, keepsakes, and more will be critical. Setting up their storage in a way that will keep their room from being cluttered, and which will allow them to easily access their items is of the highest importance. For loved ones that are living in a shared room or space, this step becomes that much more critical to their future comfort.

Here’s to Your Loved One’s Exciting New Journey

When making such a huge transition, having items that remind you of who you are and where you’ve been is incredibly comforting. You can provide this exact support for your loved one by ensuring they have every single one of these items on this list as they move into their new home. With the right entertainment, snazzy clothing, and personal items at their side, they can confidently start this exciting new chapter in their journey.