There is a stigma around senior living. A common belief is that assisted living communities are stale and have an institutionalized feel. While this idea of senior care may have been true in the past, assisted living and senior living communities have modernized and evolved over the last few decades.

Assisted living is a long-term care option that combines and provides housing, assistance, and care on an as-needed basis. Through personalized services, individuals living in an assisted living community maintain as much of their independence as possible while receiving help with the activities of daily living (ADLs). 

When looking into senior living options for yourself or a family member, it is important to understand the differences between each type of care. Finding care that is right for you or your family’s needs is vital to supporting a safe and healthy lifestyle. 

The first assisted living facility (as we know them today) came into being in 1981 after Dr. Keren Brown Wilson needed a living solution for her mother. At that time, the only option for senior care was a more institutionalized nursing home setting that focused only on medical care. Dr. Brown Wilson’s mother did not need this type of intensive care but did require some assistance, and the concept of assisted living emerged.

While the two share similarities, these two senior care options have certain fundamental differences. The benefits of assisted living vs. home care are essential to understand and can change the level of care you seek for your loved one.

Having an older loved one in need of assistance can be stressful for various reasons, but don’t let finances be one of them! According to Bankrate, in 2014, the average monthly rate for a single, assisted living bedroom was $3,500. With prices steadily climbing, this number has since increased. When most families start to encounter these prices, it may seem overwhelming. Luckily, the experts at Oaks Senior Living want to help you learn what options are available to pay for assisted living for your loved ones.

Here at Oaks Senior Living, we know that making the transition to senior living can be stressful for you and your parent. The best way to approach this transition is just like any other major decision. Be sure to take the time to research your parent’s options and help them make an educated decision. Their needs and level of care would determine if they would be better suited for memory care, independent living, or assisted living in GA (Georgia). Once you are aware of the type of senior living that is right for your loved one, help them to downsize. Downsizing their home in advance can help them to part ways with the excess things in their life. Donating their unnecessary items to those less fortunate, charities, or your family and friends can give your parent peace knowing that they are helping others, leaving it easier to get rid of things, thus moving is easier. We also put together the following list to help keep your parent’s transition in GA to assisted living as smooth as possible. 

There are many questions surrounding senior living – with many assuming that all senior living options fall under the umbrella term of ‘nursing home’. While in years gone passed a nursing home may have been the only option when a person needed professional care or assistance, that is no longer the case.

As our newest assisted living community, Oaks at Towne Lake, located in Woodstock, Georgia, opens its doors, we look back at one of our most popular (and informative) blogs ‘How Assisted Living Communities Differ From Nursing Homes.' Oaks at Towne Lake is an assisted living and memory care community and is not a nursing home. While we do offer services like medication management, regular health assessments, and on-site therapy programs, we do not provide skilled nursing care. Take a look at what Oaks at Towne Lake, an assisted living and memory care community, is bringing to the Woodstock, Georgia, area! 

Just as the seasons change, and the summer heat gives way to a cool autumn, so do the seasons of life.  Moving is a daunting and intimidating process, especially when combined with the emotions that come from the process of aging and moving into assisted living. Moving into assisted living comes with the complication of downsizing from a house into an apartment or condo-sized space. Most families do not know where to start in the moving process. After an assisted living community is selected and move-in date is set, it’s time to discuss what items they will take to their new home.