Touring Tips For Visiting Senior Living Centers
If your parent needs to move into a senior living center, such as Sharon Care Center, because they require more daily help than you can provide, then you need to tour several locations before making your choice. As you tour various assisted living centers in your area, there are many things you need to investigate. Since you likely don't have any experience with making this type of decision, here are some tips to help you know what to look for in a quality location that will take good care of your parent in your absence:
Tip: Visit Senior Living Centers with Your Parent
Since no one wants another person to go out and find a new place for them to live without being able to give their own input on the decision, make sure that you take your parent with you when visiting senior living centers.
Tip: Schedule Your Visits at Meal Times
When you schedule tours at senior living centers, make sure you ask to visit during a meal. All centers will be pleased to have you and your parent as their guest during a meal, and this will give you both a chance to check out the food quality and speak with other residents about their experience living there. You can find out many things over a meal that a formal tour may not cover
Tip: Inspect Inside and Out for Signs of Good Housekeeping and Maintenance
From the first moment you drive into a senior living center's parking lot, take mental notes of the condition of the facility and its grounds. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the parking lot in good repair?
- Does the center have nice landscaping?
- Are there patios and residents outside?
- Is the reception area inviting?
- Are the floors clean?
- Are there any offensive odors?
As you make your way through your tour and meal, keep watching and inspecting everything you can to determine if the center is in good repair and safe.
Tip: Trust the Gut Instincts of Both Yourself and Your Parent
While people may not always listen to them, everyone has gut instincts that are triggered when something just doesn't feel right. As you tour senior living centers together, make sure that you and your parent talk about your own gut instincts about each location. If one or the other of you didn't feel right about one location, then skip it and choose one where you both feel good about the decision.