Many sons, daughters and grandchildren will agonize over few decisions quite like choosing an assisted living Mesa or senior care Mesa facility for their aging family members.
Coming to grips not only with the fact that their loved ones have begun the final years of their lives, but that they’re about to choose whether their elderly relations spend those golden years places a great tax upon family members’ emotions. Doubts almost inevitably arise about whether they’ve wisely chosen a qualified caregiver. These misgivings come naturally with wanting to give loved ones only the best we can offer and fearing that we’ll end up providing anything less.
Even among the many senior care Mesa and assisted living Mesa homes that allow the East Valley’s elderly to live out their golden years in comfortable, active hospitality, not every facility will suit every family. We beg that you choose carefully and ask whatever questions you may need along the way – especially if you’re making the choice for a family member who cannot visit personally.
As benefits any major decisions, touring and assessing several assisted living Mesa and senior care Mesa facilities will allow a comparison of not only each home’s capacity to meet your elderly loved ones’ current needs, but the ones that will change as one year passes into the next and their health becomes increasingly frail. If you include the family member for whom you’re shopping around in the decision, then the odds increase that you’ll reach a choice together in which all involved can find comfort. After all, these are their needs and wishes for their final years of life.
When touring assisted living Mesa and senior care Mesa facilities, leave no question unasked. It’s better to inquire now about care options and make an informed choice than to just hope for the best.
The Assisted Living Federation of America has prepared an extensive checklist of questions that deserve to be asked while shopping around for assisted living Mesa or senior care Mesa homes. While this is an outstanding start to considering the many needs a facility should meet, we encourage you to develop your own queries based on the needs and wishes of the individual family member who will reside there.
Below, we’ve summarized just a few key queries….
- APPEARANCE
- What impression do you get of the facility, judging from its outward appearance and location?
- Does the décor of the lobby and community in general make it feel like “home?”
- Is the floor plan easy to follow?
- How are the levels of both artificial and natural lighting?
- Is the entire facility kept odor-free, clean, and well-heated/cooled?
- SAFETY
- Do doorways, hallways and rooms all provide reasonable walker and wheelchair access?
- How available and accessible are elevators to mobility-impaired residents? Are the elevators well-maintained?
- Does the facility provide handrails everywhere they’d reasonable be needed for walking?
- How accessible are shelves and cupboards?
- Are working, well-maintained sprinklers, smoke detectors and conspicuously marked exits appropriately placed?
- STAFF & VISITING
- Does the staff warmly greet visitors and interact kindly with residents throughout your tour?
- How happily do residents interact with one another? Do they seem like folks with whom your loved one will get along?
- How available are residents to visitors throughout the day?
- If you can, ask residents how they feel about the community and whether they’re happy with their environment
- MEDICATION AND HEALTH SERVICES
- What is the community’s policy toward self-administering medication?
- How does staff assist with coordinating home health care administered by nurses, physical therapists, or occupational therapists?
- Can the staff describe the procedures for storing and administering medication?
- How clear are the facility’s policies in the event of a medical emergency involving resident?
- What additional health care services are available, and what are the additional charges associated with them?
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