Part I – So Many Choices – An Overview 10:01
Where is “home”? Perhaps the most important aspect of our life. But as we age, our housing requirements start to change. When we talk about housing, where our parent lives, uppermost in consideration is the need to maximize their independence. The good news is that there is a wide range of housing options between complete independent living at one end of the spectrum and a skilled nursing home at the other. What would you want for yourself? Obviously living at home is the number one choice. This program, and the other podcasts in this series, will help you focus your thinking so that the complexity of where your parent lives begins to make sense.
Part II – Living Independently at Home 5:16
Living independently at home is the preferred choice for seniors and if you’re an adult child it should be your first choice as well. But how can you prolong the time that your parent can live at home, alone? The trick is to bring in support services. Services that can be done by you and other family members and services done by others –paid or volunteer. Sometimes just a few little things can be done to keep an elder viably independent at home. Listen to this program to get a good understanding of how to keep mom or dad at home.
Part III – Assisted Living 10:16
When the time comes that a parent can no longer live independently at home is no longer viable for health or safety reasons, an assisted living facility is a great alternative. Assisted living options are for active elders who need some daily or occasional help with the activities of daily living. It’s a social community not a nursing home. This program will clarify what an assisted living community is and is not, how to choose one, how parents can thrive in a good assisted living community, and what you can expect from moving a parent from the old home/house to the new environment.
