If your family is becoming more concerned about a loved one living safely at home, senior living can often provide solutions and peace of mind.
You may already be aware of the many benefits a senior living community offers:
- A residence that can be personalized to make it home
- An independent lifestyle
- Wide variety of activities and social events
- Frequent opportunities to meet and make friends
- Healthy and delicious dining options
- Assistance with daily tasks
- Maintenance-free living
- Scheduled transportation
- Secure communities
However, you may be less familiar with all of the steps communities take to keep their residents safe and secure. The following summary highlights a few of the safety measures you’ll typically find at a senior living community:
Accessibility
Many residences were not built with aging in mind, and your loved one’s home may be no different. Steps, narrow doors and hallways, and bathrooms with step-over bathtubs or showers are a few features that may require expensive renovations.
In a senior living community, the residences are designed to be accessible for older adults as their physical needs change, including grab bars, curbless showers and illuminated light switches. The common areas are also planned to enhance ease of access.
Available Assistance
Does your family member need a helping hand to bathe safely, dress, groom or shop for and prepare healthy meals? Are you the support system they rely on?
A senior living community can provide necessary assistance for daily tasks of living where needed, as well as fitness opportunities for their residents to stay healthy and activities to keep their minds stimulated.
Social Interaction
Becoming lonely or socially isolated is a real danger to both the physical and mental health of older adults. Unfortunately, it can also become more common as your loved ones age.
Community life has planned activities and social events to make it easy to meet the other residents and begin life-long friendships.
Scheduled Transportation
Driving can become unsafe for older adults, and may also contribute to their isolation if they can no longer attend events or participate in activities.
If a senior living community is home, your parents can take advantage of the transportation that is included for medical appointments, shopping and other entertainment options.
Security
A sense of safety and security often becomes a priority as we grow older. We may not find that in our current home or neighborhoods.
A senior living community is typically secured through personnel and/or alarm systems. Personal residences also include safety systems and usually include personal alert or call systems.
Fall Risk Reduction
Every year, one in three older adults experience a fall that often results in injury or hospitalization, so senior living communities will frequently offer balance or fall prevention classes to assist their residents in identifying and addressing their risk factors. Many of these classes pertain to the following:
- Biological – exercising to maintain or reverse loss of muscle strength, mass and balance.
- Behavioral – maintaining a healthy diet and being aware of potential side effects if taking multiple medications.
- Environmental – being aware of uneven surfaces, inadequate lighting and other trip hazards.
Infection Control
For many senior living communities, infection control protocols include screening of visitors, developing preventative recommendations, reducing the risk of transmission by cleaning and disinfecting, and opening special wings to care for those with COVID-19 and other communicable illnesses.
Employing Innovative Technology
The following are only a few examples of how technology is contributing to resident safety:
- Use of air purifiers to reduce certain types of bacteria and viruses by decreasing particles in the air.
- Lighting can have a big impact on safety. Today’s communities rely on items such as motion sensor light bulbs that activate whenever a resident enters a room. Smart home automation can automate lighting, adjust the brightness of lights and set the thermostat.
- Voice-first technology empowers residents to control and adapt their senior living home, including turning on lights, with the power of their voice.
- Technology systems, such as SafelyYou, can help detect and reduce the risk of falls. The care team is automatically notified when a fall is detected through this system, which can also provide invaluable information on when and how the fall occurred.
- Connection apps help residents stay informed about community information as well as to socially interact with residents, family and friends, even during periods of quarantine.
- Content-driven engagement technology, such as iN2L, provides wellness programs, including physical, emotional, spiritual, social and educational content.
Life at Eskaton Communities
The word Eskaton means “dawn of a new day.” In our communities, we see each day as an opportunity to enhance the lives of our residents. We’ve been serving the Sacramento region and Northern California for over 50 years.
The Eskaton Difference starts with our life-enriching programs and collaborative partnerships. With a national reputation for innovation, we focus on creating communities that provide our residents everything they need for purposeful living.
We invite you to visit one of our award-winning communities to discover some of the benefits we offer, such as:
- Private residences
- Delicious and nutritious meals
- Social opportunities to meet and make new friends
- Creative activities and therapies
- Fitness centers and exercise classes
- Housekeeping services
- Transportation services
- 24-hour staffing
- Pet-friendly
- Free Wi-Fi
- And much, much more!
If you’re considering whether senior living could be the best choice for you or a loved one, we’re here to answer any questions you may have. We also invite you to download our complimentary information, Choosing the Right Senior Living Community.
To schedule a personalized tour, call us at 1-866-ESKATON (1-866-375-2866) or visit eskaton.org.
