Choosing an Assisted Living Facility: Your Step-by-Step Guide

Choosing the right assisted living community can feel overwhelming. After all, it's about more than just finding a comfortable place to live; it's about finding a sense of community and an environment that meets the needs of today and tomorrow. And there are so many factors to consider - from the level of care needed to the location and amenities offered. But with the right information and guidance, it's easy to find the assisted living facility that's right for you, and Seniorly's here to show you how.

First things first: it's important to understand what assisted living can offer, and what it cannot. Assisted living is designed for older adults who need certain levels of medical and personal care. It provides a perfect balance between independent living and access to healthcare services. Residents in assisted living communities can live in their own apartments, but they have the comfort and security of knowing that help is available if they need it. 

Supportive services often include help with things like bathing, dressing, meals, and medication management (these are called activities of daily living, or ADLs). But perhaps the best part about these environments is that they offer social activities and a sense of community. And guess what? The move to assisted living has been shown to improve outcomes for both mental health and physical health.

If you or a loved one requires advanced medical care, or is in late-stage dementia, a traditional assisted living community may not be the best option. If you're new to the world of senior living, you may need help understanding the different types of assisted living options. Fortunately, Seniorly has created a guide to senior living that serves as a primer for all types of care - from independent living to assisted living to memory care and beyond.

Before you even start to look at specific assisted living communities, it's important to take some time to consider both present and future care requirements. Choosing a community that offers a range of care levels has significant advantages, particularly regarding future peace of mind. As we age, our health requirements often become more complex. By selecting a facility that offers a spectrum of care options, from assisted living to skilled nursing care, you ensure a seamless transition as the resident's needs evolve. These communities are often called Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) or Life Plan Communities. This continuity of care not only alleviates the stress of having to relocate to a new community but also provides the resident with a consistent environment and familiar faces.

If a senior's care needs are very specific, such as requiring specialized support for dementia, choosing a community that focuses exclusively on memory care could certainly be the right decision. Memory care communities are specifically designed to provide a secure environment, highly trained staff, and programs and activities geared towards individuals with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. These specialized facilities offer more personalized care for residents, helping them maintain their abilities and engage with the world in meaningful ways.

Take a moment to think about other things that might be important as you evaluate assisted living communities:

• Dining options: If food plays a major role in the senior's life, they're likely to want an assisted living community that has several options for dining services.
• Fitness: For some older adults, physical fitness plays a vital role. If you or a loved one just can't skip an exercise class, make sure that a review of classes and programs is part of your process.
• Transportation Services: For seniors who no longer drive, transportation services can be crucial. Most assisted living facilities offer shuttle services to shopping centers and doctor's appointments, but it's always good to confirm.
• Pet Policy: Do you or a loved one own pets? If you have a four-legged friend, it's safe to say that finding a pet-friendly community is a must-have.
• Location: Think deal-breakers on location. Do you or your loved one need to stay in the same city or town? Are you looking to move closer to family members? Do you want to be urban or suburban?

Planning for assisted living costs can feel a bit overwhelming. Assisted living is a big financial decision that can seem much harder to understand than a simple mortgage or rent payment. That's why it's so important to understand what you can afford before making you start considering locations.

Consulting with a financial advisor or financial planner is likely the best first step toward setting a realistic budget. They'll help you understand all the financial resources that can be leveraged to pay for an assisted living facility, like home equity, and potential benefits, like pension or Veterans benefits. A financial expert will also help you craft a financial strategy to ensure you're covered for the long haul.

You may want to look for a financial advisor or financial planner who has worked with seniors before and is specialized in the field. Such experts are likely to know details about assisted living costs and complexities, while a general financial advisor may not.

Seniorly also hosts SeniorExplorer, a helpful data hub that delivers cost of care estimates in your area, and even breaks them down by care type and room type. Our algorithm is based on real-time moves into senior living communities, so it represents the actual costs that residents are paying, not just the cost of the room itself.

Now here's where the fun part starts. If you've ever scrolled through real-estate listings on sites like Zillow or Redfin, you'll be familiar with what comes next, as you can do the same thing for assisted living communities. Sites like Seniorly offer so much detail about senior living communities - from photos to pricing to reviews.

Pricing is likely to be the single largest determinant in your search, and for that reason, Seniorly offers upfront pricing estimates for all independent living, memory care and assisted living communities. The other factor that will likely be important is location. To accommodate this, Seniorly also offers a map view that shows all assisted living facilities in your area.

Start by browsing communities in your desired area. Like many other platforms, Seniorly allows you to save communities to your own Home Base, so you can revisit them later. But don't stop there; you can also solicit feedback from other sources, such as:

• Senior living advisor: Engaging a professional senior living advisor can be incredibly helpful. Advisors specialize in knowing all the senior living options in your area, conducting assessments, and recommending suitable communities based on individual needs, budget, and preferences. They can offer unbiased feedback on quality of care, and they are especially helpful if your timeline is tight. If you're interested in working with a senior living advisor, Seniorly has a national network of trusted professionals to work with - just check out our link below!
• Doctor's office: Physicians often have knowledge and experience regarding senior living communities in the area and can provide valuable recommendations based on the needs and preferences of their senior patients.
• Friends: Seeking advice from friends who have gone through the process of finding the right community can offer firsthand insights and personal experiences that can help narrow down the options.
• Church or religious groups: Members of your religious community can provide guidance and suggestions based on their community connections and personal experiences.

Once you have a shortlist of between three and five communities, the next step is touring. Touring assisted living facilities is a bit like shopping - it's all about finding the perfect match. And for most families, this perfect match ends up being a balance of the logical and the emotional; sometimes it's just as much about the feeling you have when you're in a community, rather than the attributes of the community itself. The best assisted living facility is the one that feels right for you. While research and input is important, don't ignore your feelings about each community. So embrace the touring experience as an opportunity to learn more about what you and your loved ones do - and don't - appreciate. Here's what we suggest:

• Make a list of your "must-haves": Based on your research and what you know your loved one needs, make a list of the key criteria for each community. What is going to be important in an assisted living home? This may include factors such as meal services, medical care availability, transportation, social events, room layouts, and more. This list will help narrow down your options and streamline your touring process.
• Schedule a visit: Once you have your shortlist of assisted living facilities, reach out to them to schedule a tour. This will give you the best idea of what life is like in each community.
• Ask plenty of questions: During your visit, be sure to ask plenty of questions. Seniorly's got a great checklist to take with you during your tour.
• Take notes during your tour: Be sure to take detailed notes during your visit, as it's likely that you won't remember everything later. This will help you compare different communities later, especially after you've done a few and they start to blur together.
• Speak with residents and staff: While touring, make sure to spend time with both current residents and staff members to get a sense of the overall atmosphere. This is perhaps one of the most important ways to assess the sense of community. The perspectives of residents are especially important, as they are much less biased than staff members.
• Review pricing: The touring experience is a great time for prospective residents to sit down with staff members and review the pricing model for each community. Most assisted living communities provide various levels of health care to accommodate the needs of their residents, but these often come at an incremental cost. Before you leave, make you understand levels of care, annual increases, and any other costs that may be added to the monthly rent.
• Stay a while: Perhaps the best piece of feedback we've gotten from families who have been through the experience is to just sit for a while in the lobby or common area and observe. As a prospective resident, you're likely to get the red-carpet treatment during your tour. But you can also glean a lot from simply observing interactions. How do staff seem to relate to and talk with each other? What kind of interactions do you see between staff and residents?

After touring your shortlist of senior living communities, it's time to make a final decision. This decision should be based not only on the immediate feelings you got from each place, but also on a review of what was seen and experienced during the tour of each community. Consider factors such as the level of care provided, the cleanliness of the facility, the friendliness and professionalism of the staff, and any feedback from current residents. The available amenities, services, and activities should also be evaluated. Most assisted living communities provide varying levels of health care, so assess whether or not these meet your specific requirements. Ultimately, the final decision should be centered around selecting a compassionate, comfortable, and suitable living situation for the senior, based on their needs and preferences.