No one looks forward to moving into a retirement home. The brochures always feature smiling, happy seniors riding around in golf carts and lounging at the pool. It is a beautiful picture on paper that more often than not, fails to translate into reality. A senior moving into a retirement facility has probably lost their driver’s license and vehicle. They have lost their home and independence. And they have lost a lot of what made them who they are. Regardless of how nice the facility is, those seniors are not happy to be there, at least not initially.
That said, they also gain a lot of things. They get a certain measure of safety and security that their old home might not have afforded. In a retirement facility, there will be fails and safety handles, and non-slip surfaces. There will also be healthy meals they don’t have to prepare for themselves. That is a major win. Grocery shopping is a thing of the past. They will also have a variety of amenities that might have been unavailable to them before. One of the nicest benefits is a ready-made community they can easily plug into. When looking for a retirement facility or nursing home for your aging loved ones, make sure they are equipped with the following quality of life benefits:
Things To Look For In A Retirement Home
Quality TV Entertainment
You might have noticed already that seniors tend to watch a lot of TVs. Don’t judge. They also tend to have a lot fewer things to fill the passing hours. Television is a technology they understand and can operate by themselves. That said, many seniors are quite technically literate. They deserve to have the best options that everyone else enjoys.
TV is about quality of life. So be sure the retirement home TV is high quality, easy to control, and has all the modern options. Also, make certain the tech stack includes telephone and internet. Don’t leave your loved ones in a place without a reliable internet connection. They will be using video chat to keep up with the grandkids. Cutting seniors off from Facebook is unconscionable because that is the main way they keep up with their community when not in person. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that technology is unimportant for people over 60. On the contrary, it becomes more important as a tool of entertainment and communication. Check the tech before you check them in.
Community Events
When it comes to senior citizens, community events are not optional, but necessary. One of the most common causes of suicide among seniors is loneliness. This has been true for a very long time. A person can be lonely even when surrounded by people. Sometimes, it is the fact that they are surrounded by people that tightens the reality that they have no significant human connections.
When a person enters a retirement facility for the first time, they feel very much alone. They don’t know anyone there. They don’t know the social structure and have to work out their place in it. Community events help break that ice and make forming meaningful connections easier. They also give seniors something to do besides watch TV all day. It gives them a way to keep their minds sharp and engaged. And it reminds them that there is still much for them to do. A retirement community without community events is not the place for your loved one.
Health Education
Seniors aren’t children and should be treated like children. As they get older, it is expected that they will have health conditions. In some places, they are just handed a cup full of pills and expected to take them without question. But it is important to keep patients in the loop and in control of their medical care. As long as they have legal agency to make decisions in such matters, they need to be provided with the best available patient education. They need to know the status of any tests and be consulted on the next steps. Seniors should never be kept in the dark with regard to their healthcare.
Quality of life is as important as the quantity of life for seniors. Make sure their retirement home provides a quality tech stack, quality community events, and quality patient care.
