SENIOR LIVING communities adapt as residents’ needs change
When it’s time to choose a retirement community for you or a loved one to move into, starting a search can be a bit overwhelming, especially in a city as large as Houston.
Once you narrow down your options, you can see that several area senior living communities now offer services that adapt as individual needs change.
A continuum of care community can provide residents with care as they move through independent living, assisted living and long-term nursing or memory care. There are various benefits to seniors who can stay within the same community as their needs change.
Treemont Retirement Community in Houston identifies as a continuing care retirement community, or CCRC. Many CCRCs require a large monetary “buy-in.” Treemont is one of the few CCRCs that instead requires a monthly apartment rental.
“Typically seniors move to retirement communities for a reason; either they’ve had a health setback, their spouse passed and they may no longer be able to maintain upkeep of their home, or they don’t drive, so they need a more social living environment,” said Lisa Witt, marketing manager at Treemont Retirement Community. “I like to say about the benefits of a CCRC is that your address doesn’t have to change as your care needs do.”
According to Witt, as seniors age, the key to remaining independent is a more supportive environment. One can get the meals (better nutrition), housekeeping, maintenance (more carefree living), entertainment and activities (more social living) in a retirement or senior living community, showing that there’s a benefit to having extra care options available.
“Some seniors have Parkinson’s disease, heart disease or diabetes, all of which can be managed by diet, exercise and medications. It’s so easy, however, to have a senior’s health spiral out of control if they are not able to properly manage their medications,” Witt said. “This is one extra care option, provided through an on-premise home health care company that Treemont offers, that can keep a senior active, independent and fully functioning.”
Another advantage of living in an independent living or retirement community is that staff members can keep an eye on changes in resident behavior and take them to the doctor if needed.
“…Transporting residents to doctor’s appointments, but engaging the family, is a key part of our senior living program,” Witt said. “Our home health company on campus will do some blood pressure and other screenings, but it’s also important to let the family know if we see a change in their loved one’s condition or behavior.”
Independence Plus living services are offered at Treemont if seniors want to remain independent in their own apartments a bit longer, rather than receiving 24/7 assisted living or nursing home care. Residents receive communitybased home health services that provide check-ins, medication reminders, or just scheduled visits to spend time with residents in their apartments.
“When we notice someone is struggling, we try to help assist to see if perhaps they need medical attention, or they are in fact ready to make the transition to next level of care,” added Rodney Brooks, executive director, Treemont Retirement Community. “If it’s a couple living together, with one experiencing a decline in health before the other, we can help them both relocate within campus to separate living units that are still close together.”
Serving residents’ changing needs, the whole continuum of care is offered at Parkway Place in Houston as well. Offered are independent living, assisted living, memory care, and both short- and long-term stays in skilled nursing.
“The idea is residents move into independent living, and as their needs increase, they can transition to different levels but stay in same community with familiar faces,” said Susan Phelps, executive director at Parkway Place, a faithbased senior living community. “Once they move into Parkway Place, they may have to move apartments to move to different levels of care, but should never have to move into a different facility. …They will be familiar with our employees, who work in all different areas, in addition to having friends close to them within the halls.”
According to Phelps, living in a community like this can give older adults the assurance that their needs are there and they aren’t going to have to do another search to find a new place to live.
“Most often, these residents and their families will have done a lot of research before they’ve come here, so they won’t have to go through steps and do the work to adjust to a whole new environment again,” she said.
To come to a decision in choosing a senior living community for you or a loved one, the first thing Phelps recommends is visiting several communities, sometimes even multiple times.
“If it’s family members who are searching, visit three to four communities and narrow it down to the best fit,” she said. “Then bring the potential resident in to have a meal and try the food, get a feel for how the residents and staff members interact, and take a look at the residents to see if they seem happy and content. This will tell the true story of what’s going on in the community.”
For more information about Treemont, visit www.treemont.com. For Parkway Place, visit www.buckner.org/retirementservices/parkway-place/.
Another advantage of living in an independent living or retirement community is that staff members can keep an eye on changes in resident behavior and take them to the doctor if needed.