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Life Plan Communities: 4 Different Levels of Care

If you’re a baby boomer, chances are you’ve been planning for your sunset years for sometimes now. You’ll be pleased to learn that senior living has advanced considerably over the years to include many new options. As you grow older, you’ll naturally become more curious about senior care services. Some of the questions you’ll ask regularly include:

  • What particular services will I require as I gradually advance in age?
  • Which senior community best serves my needs?

To answer these questions, let’s learn more about Life Plan Communities.

About Life Plan Communities

Life Plan Communities, also referred to as Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs), offer you various types of care, ranging from independent residential accommodation to nursing care that assists you as your needs evolve.

It’s essential that you understand how supportive a Life Plan Community can be as you age. This removes any concerns you might have about future health issues, such as memory loss and failing health. The following are the various types of care you should expect from a Life Plan Community, as well as some common differences:

1. Independent Residential Living

As is the case with most seniors, you probably started considering retirement living years before you needed constant care. Independent residential living is convenient because it offers you cottages and apartments in a secure community of your peers.

In this environment, you’ll have grounds care and maintenance taken care of. This gives you ample time to enjoy social and fitness activities with your fellow citizens. Such communities also provide standard on-campus amenities. These include beauty parlors, fitness centers, medical services, transportation, and therapy services. With these essential services always close, you’ll achieve peace of mind in no time.

2. Personal Care

Personal Care offers you extra services if you need help with daily living. As a resident, you’ll still be independent, but have ready access to skilled staff who will assist you in performing activities of daily living (ADLs). These services include grooming, performing household chores, medication administration, running errands, and incontinence management.

The support and pricing you receive will depend on the amount of assistance you’ll require. Standard Personal Care packages have a minimum of three daily meals, linen service, housekeeping, and access to social amenities.

Personal Care units can vary from little efficiency apartments to single-room units equipped with a full bath. In some communities, you might be offered Assisted Living Services. This resembles Personal Care but includes medical support.

3. Memory Care

As a senior, you might suffer from dementia, Alzheimer’s and other memory loss complications. Memory Care aims to provide you with a tranquil, self-reliant environment that is both secure and comfortable. Memory Care is designed to preserve your self-dignity even if you’re battling memory difficulties. Personnel is particularly trained to handle members who are undergoing brain change.

Starting with prepared meals, to customized support from staff members, the whole environment is meticulously designed to offer ready assistance if you suffer from memory loss. Each activity is set up to fit your individual needs. Memory Care can either be a dedicated section, or a part of Personal Care and Healthcare facilities.

4. Healthcare Center

Healthcare Centers offer you high-quality nursing and suitable custodial assistance, whether you’re in for long-term or short-term rehabilitation. The medical treatment plan also includes care delivered by licensed nurses. This is a higher quality of care provided as an answer to one-off or recurring medical conditions.

Short-term rehabilitation refers to a limited stay you undergo in a skilled nursing facility. This commonly occurs after a stroke, surgery, or other exceptional health problems. The temporary care is meant to ensure you receive both treatment and crucial support you need before going back to your home.

Long-term care is a more exhaustive treatment choice. It’s best if you have chronic ailments or progressive conditions like dementia, strokes or long-term disabilities. As a member, you get immediate access to medical professionals any time you need them. Such highly trained personnel can respond quickly to any health issues you raise.

Healthcare Centers also offer end-of-life care during the final chapter of their members’ lives. The care that’s administered includes hospice care for those suffering from terminal illnesses. At this point, the focus shifts to making their final days as comfortable and pain-free as possible.

The United Zion Retirement Community & the Life Plan Difference

At United Zion Retirement Community, we have all the answers to your senior living-related questions. We offer high-quality care from our scenic hilltop location in Lititz, Lancaster County, PA.

Our full-range of services are designed to maintain your health, dignity, independence, and passion for life as you age. For more on the advantages of Life Plan Communities in general and United Zion’s services in particular, contact us today.

Four Ways to Make Your Senior Community Feel More Like Home During a Crisis

Do you manage a senior community or home? If so, one of your goals is to make sure your residents feel at home during their stay. Read here to learn some ways to make your retirement community feel more like home.

Regardless of someone’s age, people should always feel at home wherever they reside, even if that’s a retirement community. As staff members at a senior facility, you should foster a place of comfort to keep your residents feeling at home and safe, even during the COVID-19 crisis. Keep reading for some ways to make a retirement community feel like home.

Follow the CDC’s guidelines

Staying active is important for everyone regardless of age, even if it’s just a daily walk. Just ensure that you’re following social distancing. Unfortunately, at this time. residents must be kept safe and that forces many retirement homes to suspend several activities, since the elderly are the most vulnerable to COVID-19. As staff, you have a duty to keep elderly residents safe during this pandemic. You can keep your residents, your employees, and yourself safe by following the CDC guidelines.

Encourage meaningful relationships

Both the residents and staff should always have positive relationships. Your staff should feel connected to each resident; they become family over time. Again, these relationships look a little different right now with COVID-19, so you can encourage relationships through social distancing.

Give them the freedom to customize their room

Many residents are going to feel most comfortable when they’re in their room, so you should encourage them to personalize their room during this time of social distancing. Many older folks have their favorite chair from home, or perhaps they prefer all-white walls. Whatever they prefer, allow them to add in that element if possible.

Make their downtime enjoyable

Seniors rightfully love their downtime, and downtime will be even more prominent with the pandemic we’re facing. Many seniors enjoy watching television, whether it’s the news, Jeopardy, or their favorite movie, they need to be able to watch their favorite shows. That said, you need to ensure that TVs throughout your facility work properly. One of the most common reasons a TV isn’t working is a damaged HDMI cable, so keep an eye for some of the signs the HDMI cable went bad.

These are just a few things we can do to help make residents feel at home in their new home. If you incorporate these tips, you’ll be on your way to having even happier residents!

Pros and Cons of Starting a Business in Retirement

Starting a business in retirement may seem daunting, but there can be many benefits as well. As with any new venture, the most important thing is to think carefully and not jump into anything unprepared. The most important thing is to start a business you know you’ll enjoy. If you’re retired, now is the time to think about doing something new and exciting, and a retirement business can be just that. Here are some important pros and cons to consider.

Pro: Earn Extra Income

Saving for retirement can be tough, and not everyone wants to sacrifice their lifestyle to make do. Starting a business in retirement is a great way to supplement savings and retirement pensions by doing something you love. Not only will the extra income help maintain your lifestyle, but it can also be a great way to add to your retirement savings in case you decide to hang your hat down the line.

Con: Liability

Owning or operating a business enterprise can sometimes be scary. If you have a physical storefront, someone may get hurt on your doorstep. If you sell products, occasionally a hard to notice mistake might cause issues. In many cases, you may be exposing yourself to liability. While there are liability risks in almost every business, this can be remedied by getting commercial general liability insurance. While the threat of liability can be intimidating, factoring liability insurance into your plan should ease most of your concerns. In fact, many landlords require it for any tenant renting commercial space.

Pro: Keeping Busy is Healthy

Going from working five days a week to having almost no structure to your day can be a huge culture shock. A key part of staying healthy in retirement is keeping busy with hobbies and other activities. Running a business, while certainly a lot of work, is a great way to keep your days structured and stimulating in retirement. Engaging with customers or suppliers will keep your mind sharp, and having a schedule is a great way to maintain healthy sleeping and eating habits.

Con: Startup Costs

If you’re retired, that means that you’ve worked your whole life to save for retirement. Starting a business will always require laying out money for initial investments, and that can be scary when you’re living on a fixed income. The key to success is to put together a strong, comprehensive plan for your business. Think about what you love to do and build from there. Be sure to consider any potential startup costs like rent, supplies, or inventory. While startup costs can be significant, they can be managed with careful planning.

Pro: You Can Leave a Strong Legacy

A retirement business is a great way to build a financial and community legacy for your family. Whether you’d like to leave a business behind for your children or want to make a lasting impact on your community, going into business in retirement can help you leave the legacy you want. You’ll be able to forge new friendships and networking connections and even teach your close friends and family about running your business. If you have grandchildren, teaching them about business is a wonderful way to spend time.

Con: Less Leisure Time

Running a business is time-consuming. Many people want to spend their retirement vacationing or sitting by the fire with a nice book. When starting a business in retirement, be sure to consider the time you’ll have to spend keeping things running. Consider a business you can run part-time if you aren’t ready to have a second career so soon after retiring.

It’s important to consider all of these things and talk to your family before deciding if you should start a new business after retirement.

Five Tips for Healthy Golden Years

Living as a senior doesn’t mean you have to stop living. In fact, one report from the Postgraduate Medical Journal states, “With increasing age, there is an increased risk of developing non-communicable chronic health conditions.” Inactivity, they say, can result in many medical problems and certainly contributes to mortality.

Seniors have spent a lifetime doing and being all manner of things and this does not have to change in their golden years. There are many things – active and proactive – that our elders can do to ensure they live a fulfilling life.

Stay On Top of Medical Care

Regular check-ups are important to monitor any possible problems that may arise. Be sure your seniors are visiting their doctors and/or specialists regularly to ensure illness or complications don’t sneak up on them. Make sure all contact numbers are easily accessible in case of an emergency.

Keep the Environment Safe

A preemptive way to prevent accidental falls or slips – which accounts for millions of non-lethal injuries in the US every year and can lead to more complications – be sure you have the right safety equipment in bathrooms and other tricky areas of the home.

Volunteer

From pet shelters to schools to senior living facilities, there are ample ways a senior can use their experience and wisdom to not only help others but themselves. There are multiple benefits to volunteering for seniors including mental health, physical activity, and fun.

Eat and Sleep Healthy

Even for the most finicky eaters, a healthy diet can be accomplished. Being aware of specific medical needs can help guide you in determining the best supplements (if necessary) for your senior as well as dietary restrictions. Make sure, as well, your senior is getting the right amount of good sleep.

Be Social

Being retired does not have to mean solitude. See if there are local groups that can host your senior. Whether it is a book club, a game of gin rummy, or knitting, these activities can help seniors feel less isolated. Especially if they live alone. Even if your senior has problems with mobility, receiving visits from friends, family and neighbors can significantly improve the quality of life for seniors.

It is important that seniors stay active and engaged as much as possible during their golden years. Search our database of senior centers and communities to find local activities for seniors.

3 Tips for Hiring a Senior Caregiver

It can be hard for some children to accept when their parents get older. Suddenly, the roles are reversed. Children must take care of their parents instead of the other way around. Yet, there are options out there for children who are overwhelmed. If your aging parent needs more help than you can give at this time, consider hiring a senior caregiver. This article will overview three tips for hiring a senior caregiver. If you follow this advice, your parent will surely have the best help out there.

Hire Through a Trusted Company or Agency

When hiring a caregiver for a parent, it’s important to remember you aren’t on this journey alone. There are tons of amazing agencies out there that’ll help people find caregivers for seniors. Please, do your research and only work with an agency that has good reviews from past clients. Meet with higher-up officials within the agency to get a feel for what they value most. Also, inquire about their hiring process. Make sure that the company performs background checks and random drug testing on every employee they hire, like the tests offered in drug testing Lorain Ohio. Ensure that you understand how employers handle the drug testing process and what steps are involved. That way, you can get a grasp on how rigorously these caregivers are vetted and you can be confident in the person you choose to hire. Again, hiring a caregiver for your loved one can be a challenging task. Make sure you’re working with trusted professionals throughout the process. New LifeStyles lists all state licensed home care providers nationwide, providing a good place to start.

Make Sure the Caregiver Is a Good Fit

An important tip for hiring a senior caregiver is to make sure the two people mesh well together. The caregiver and the person who needs care will be spending a lot of time together. As the person hiring them, you must ensure the two get along. Perhaps do a trial run. Give it a week or so to see if the two get along. Make sure everything’s going smoothly before you hire them permanently. Also, make sure the prospective caregiver knows about any health issues or illnesses, so they know how to best care for the person.

Be Communicative with Both Parties

One of the best things you can do if you’re hiring a caregiver for a senior is to communicate with both people involved. First, make sure the prospective caregiver engages with your parent or the senior they’re taking care of. Ensure that they’ll really take an interest in your parent and let them know what your parent likes and doesn’t like. Please, don’t just have the caregiver walk into things blindly. Also, talk with your parent about what’s going on. Don’t leave them in the dark about the situation. Tell them why you’re hiring a caregiver and let them ask any questions they want. The more open everyone is with one another, the smoother the transition will be.

How to Improve Care in Your Senior Care Home

When someone transitions to a nursing home, or any other senior community, they and their family entrust future care to that staff. After so long living autonomously, this is a significant change for an individual. When they make this change, they are often in a vulnerable state, which means that they need those involved in assisted living support to be consistent and caring. Following are three tips that will help give residents a high quality of life.

Simplify Communication

It’s not uncommon for emergencies to occur in a care home, or similar environment. Your facility must establish emergency protocols and ensure staff can communicate easily with one another. One way to do this is by using a simple communication system. A two-way radio network is a particularly streamlined option. Some two-way radio distributors, apart from just the quick push to talk features, can even educate your team on how to use features that check in on your staff when they work alone, plus many other helpful features, like emergency buttons and more.

Promote Residents’ Activity

When many people summon an image of a senior home into their mind, they think of seniors lounging around a lobby or hallways and either dozing, playing a card game, or watching television. This is not good for anyone! Instead of one or 2 set activities each day, consider implementing sustained programming throughout the day that combines many different facets of life. For those who enjoy games, help organize board and card games with stretch breaks between games. This helps residents keep their brains & bodies fresh. If you have residents who enjoy watching television, structure in a time for people to come together and watch something together, and then discuss it.  This allows for good social engagement. Squeeze in different kinds of exercise sessions too, like using commercial time for chair aerobics. Consistent but flexible programming prevents boredom and improves care.

Improve Oversight

To maintain accountability, make sure you offer a consistent staff oversight procedure. Communicate with your team about what you expect from them and how you will assess them, and then begin said oversight. Make sure expectations are clear, including unannounced checks on the quality of care. Be as systematic as possible to objectively measure care quality yourself, before anyone else does.

These three tips can help your senior care home thrive, even in uncertain times.

Supporting Your Family As A Senior

As a senior, a common unsettling emotion at this age is the frustration that comes along with feeling inadequate, or as though you aren’t able to help your family in the same ways as earlier in life. Although it may be true that you might not have the ability to do exactly everything you used to, you should find peace knowing there are still wonderful ways that you can show care and appreciation for their loved ones, regardless of your age. Here are a few ways that loving your family doesn’t have to stop as the years pass.

Tell old stories

Although growing old has a few minor drawbacks, there is so much beauty and wisdom that comes from a mature life. These beautiful factors of aging can help highlight this point in your life as a time to support and impact your family in ways you never imagined. . One of the great things about being elderly is the vast number of memories and experiences you have made and gone through in your lifetime. From living through different time periods or collecting photographs and memorabilia along the way, you can pass traditions, wisdom, and valuable advice down to younger generations.

Especially if you have grandchildren, take time to sit down with them and passing along information or telling stories of your past. Inform them about their relatives they never got the chance to meet as explaining their heritage and family history is a great way to strengthen your family bond. As keepers of your family’s stories, you can support traditions and values for years to come by investing time sharing your knowledge and wisdom. You can use photo albums and family heirlooms to guide your stories and spark conversation among your family members as a way to connect them.

Plan for the future

At this point in life, you have most likely put your working days behind you. But one way to continue to financially support and protect your family is to re-evaluate your life insurance plan. If you have children or grandchildren who are still financially dependent on you, it’s important that you have a suitable life insurance policy that will guarantee stability to continue to support their quality of life after you are gone. Supporting your family in this way is a great reason to maintain your plan—especially if you have a whole life plan, where money can sometimes be borrowed against the policy while still keeping the insurance in tack to help pay for living assistance needs. If you have not already invested in a policy, take some time to research your options as plans are typically more expensive the older an individual is.

If you don’t require life insurance because you have no outstanding debts or dependents but are still looking for options to support your family, you can consider final expense insurance as an option. While it may not be something you wish to think about, setting this up will ensure your medical bills and funeral expenses will be taken care of before the end of your life. This will rid you of any uncertainties about your affairs and wishes while also providing you comfort that you will not create a financial burden to be left behind on others.

Select adequate housing

Something to consider as you decide on your living situation is the proper level of care that is needed to ensure that you are receiving the appropriate assistance while still maintaining necessary boundaries and independence. Remember that just as much as you wish to support the other members of your family, they have the same desire to make sure that you’re safe as well. Worrying for an older parent can cause stress, which is why spending time discussing your options and keeping them involved in the process can ease many concerns from both sides.

By making smart and researched decisions, you will be supporting your loved ones by offering them peace of mind, protection, and future financial security.

Tips for Planning a Group Outing for Seniors

Group outings can be troublesome enough—but arranging these events can be particularly stressful for seniors and their caregivers. Not only do you need to account for everyone’s health, but you also need to remember that each person has physical limitations. Still, this isn’t an excuse to give up—seniors need the opportunity to get out and enjoy themselves, too. So, if you’re a caregiver looking to give your loved one a wonderful day out with their friends, utilize these tips for planning a group outing for seniors.

Get to Know the Participants

In order to ensure that everyone has a great time, it’s crucial that you take the time to get to know each of the group members before you plan. This will ensure that you keep everyone’s interests in mind as you’re choosing the activity and that you’re aware of any limitations individuals have. Reaching out in this way can also give the seniors the opportunity to get involved with the planning themselves. For instance, they may give you ideas you haven’t thought of yet or give you insight into other activities they’d find fun.

Pick Realistic Activities

It’s also crucial that you pick activities that won’t put too much strain on your group members. At the same time, you don’t want to be patronizing by choosing senior-exclusive activities. So, make sure you take some time to research the hobbies of your participants and which ones would make for the most fun events.

Plan with Special Needs in Mind

In addition to the activities, you also need to account for other factors of the trip such as transportation, food, supplies, and whether any participants are on time-sensitive medications. The importance of transportation is particularly noteworthy for seniors as it helps them maintain their independence along with keeping them active and involved. So, make sure you acquire the proper vehicles to accommodate them for the outing’s entire duration.

We all look forward to special outings, so do your preparation ahead of time to make your next senior outing a success for everyone!

How Alexa Can Enhance the Life of a Senior

Most of us are now used to having a personal assistant in our home that works with just the sound of our voice. But not everyone. For some elderly who have a difficult time using a keyboard, smartphone or tablet, this type of device can be a useful addition to the home. If you are not familiar, one in particular goes by the name of Alexa. Alexa is a digital assistant that is built into various Amazon devices, most notably the Amazon Echo, Dot and Tap.

Understanding Alexa and What She Does

Inside of the devices that holds Alexa is a speaker that can be heard from various points of your home. There are a few microphones in each device that will pick up your voice from any direction without the need to be extremely loud. Initially, these Amazon devices must be set up with a WIFI Internet connection and through an app on a smartphone, tablet or computer. The devices must also be plugged into an outlet in order to work. Once the initial setup is complete, however, Alexa is completely accessible by voice commands. Seniors will not have to use the app or computer unless they need to add a new feature or skill, or to update the app itself.

Using Alexa for Entertainment

The Amazon devices can be synchronized with a number of audio book accounts which allows the user to stream books from their library directly to the speaker. “Alexa, read my book,” will reopen whatever book that was last read and Alexa will start reading where you left off. Users can also access books from their personal Kindle to be read aloud to them.
Amazon is also continuously updating the app with various “Skills” which users must “enable” from a smartphone, tablet or computer. At this time, there are literally hundreds of Skills to choose from. Again, once set-up, any Skill is managed solely by voice-activation. These Skills include reading passages from the bible, telling jokes, reading fun facts, and reciting poetry, just to name a few!

Using Alexa in the Kitchen

Alexa is a very useful personal assistant when it comes to cooking. Fiddling with a cookbook or web page on the computer isn’t always easy for the elderly, but Alexa bypasses the need to do this altogether. Simply call out, “Alexa, give me a recipe for chicken” and she will respond in kind. You can ask her to list the ingredients and cooking instructions for various recipes, give conversions for measurements and set a timer for when something is in the oven or on the stove.

Alexa Works with Smart Appliances

Once configured, users are able to control certain appliances in their homes with a voice command. This feature does require the user to purchase specific appliance switches that work with the device. The Phillips Hue is a personal wireless lighting system that works with Alexa. It allows users to turn their smart lights on or off or to turn on their ceiling fan with voice commands, as two examples. Avi-on is another skill that allows you to interact with compatible devices just by voice as well, such as turning on the coffee pot or dimming the bedroom lights.

Alexa Can Send Messages for You

You can now call or message friends and family that also have the Alexa app on their devices. To communicate, both parties will need to set up the app in order for the devices to communicate with one another. Contacts must be set up correctly in order for Alexa to call or message that person. After set-up is complete, simply say, “Alexa, make a call” and she will call the person you name. “Alexa, send a message” will send a message to the contact you name, as well. You can even play messages that are left on your device just by asking Alexa to play them for you.

These are just a few of the many things Alexa can do for you. We have Alexa set-up to wake-up Dad & remind him to take his medication. Alexa is an extremely useful tool for seniors who are still independent in their homes. Alexa makes life a lot more easier and a lot more fun!

Ways Seniors Can Meet New Friends

Sometimes, as we age, it becomes more difficult to connect with others as we retire from work and our family moves to distant areas. However, maintaining a sense of community is important for a healthy lifestyle and mindset. If you don’t find yourself interacting much with others in your daily routine, it’s time to make a change. Here are some ways seniors can meet new friends.

Take a Class

Taking a class in any subject that you find enjoyable can allow you to not only learn more about it, but it can also provide an opportunity for you to meet others who share the same interest. You can visit your local senior center or community college to enroll in classes and keep your mind sharp as you absorb new information and gain new skills. At the same time, you can talk with others in the class and potentially meet up with them after it’s over to continue growing in the activities you did there.

Volunteer

Often, you gain a lot by giving, and volunteering is no exception. Look up volunteer openings in your area where you can serve those in need, take up an important job, or help keep the neighborhood clean and beautiful. More than just being something to do, you’ll improve the lives of those around you. As you get more involved, you might consider joining an organization as a regular volunteer where you’ll also build relationships with others serving with you.

Play Sports

You may need to avoid high-impact games, but that doesn’t mean sports are entirely out of the question. Sports and activities such as badminton, tennis, swimming, and golf can all help you to stay physically healthy while also allowing you to connect with others. You can often find clubs whose members convene frequently to play and compete against each other. For example, you could join a golf league where you can improve your skills while also chatting with other members between strokes.

Consider a Senior Community

What about moving to a senior community where you are surrounded by other like minded individuals? Most communities have social clubs, outings and activities to keep you active and social. Some even focus on a particular hobby, like art, continuing education, and more.