Aging in Place
The desire to find a home where your parent can “age in place” is common in families looking for a place to move their parent. You want to be able to find somewhere that they can stay and become comfortable and familiar with their new home, staff, food, routine, etc. Assisted living facilities have grown exponentially popular for this reason by offering more assistance than an independent living home while offering more independence than a skilled nursing facility.
Some circumstances of whether a resident moves out can not be controlled, such as, if the resident worsens beyond what the facility can care for. There are, however, some aspects of assisted living that can be controlled to help the resident have a better experience such as dining, having helpful staff, and having the appropriate nursing services.
Dining is a factor that can affect whether a resident enjoys living in a facility or not because everyone has different preferences and tastes. At the Gables of Ammon, we try our hardest to accommodate everyone by having alternative menu items that our residents can choose from if they do not like what our chefs have made for that meal. Our Director of Dining Services works closely with a nutritionist to make sure everyone is receiving the nutrients that they need to stay healthy. We are also very accommodating to special dietary needs, such as if someone needs more fiber or can’t have gluten.
Having a helpful staff that serves happily is also something that will change a resident’s experience. If the resident feels bothersome, burdensome, or neglected, they will not enjoy living there. However, if the resident feels that their caregivers care for them and enjoy serving them, then they are much more likely to enjoy their experience. This is very important to us at The Gables of Ammon and so we train all of our new employees to go above and beyond and to try to impact a resident’s experience. We believe that no task is too small and that we can brighten someone’s day with something as simple as a smile. Having a happy attitude is infectious and one that we hope will help our residents love their new home because that is what is important to us.
Having the quality nursing care is also something that is extremely important and something that a facility could control. In a study called, “Effects of Facility Characteristics on Departures from Assisted Living: Results From a National Study,” a study was done to figure out how many people left assisted living in a certain amount of time and why they moved. They found that there were many people that moved to a nursing home because they needed the extra care. Interestingly enough, however, they found that in the assisted living homes with an RN, the residents were more likely to stay longer because of the nursing care that was available. They concluded that “for residents in such settings, the odds of going to a nursing home were roughly half of those for residents in assisted living facilities (ALFs) not offering this level of staffing. This finding is relevant to the current debate over whether ALFs can substitute for, or delay movement to, nursing homes. It seems that ALFs can affect the odds that a resident will go to a nursing home, but only if they provide some of the nursing services that one would expect at a nursing home.”
At the Gables of Ammon, we know how important it is to have quality nursing services. That is why we are changing our nursing services to include an over-site RN, a full-time LPN, and a part-time LPN so that we can have a nurse on-site seven days a week rather than just five days. We feel this will benefit our residents and allow them to stay and “age in place.”
We know that there are many factors that we can change to make your family feel more at home at The Gables. We strive to fulfill the needs and surpass the expectations of our residents and their families. We believe it is important for the elderly to find a place they love and be able to stay there as long as they can which is why we do what we do.
References:
Phillips, C. D., Munoz, Y., Sherman, M., Rose, M., Spector, W., & Hawes, C. (2003). Effects of Facility Characteristics on Departures From Assisted Living: Results From a National Study. The Gerontologist,43(5), 690-696. doi:10.1093/geront/43.5.690