Assisted living facilities offer the elderly a place to live outside of their own home where they can receive basic assistance in the form one or more of the following: housekeeping, meal preparation, 24-7 monitoring, shower assistance, toileting, medication assistance or reminders, transportation, eating, dressing, activities, socialization, etc. Other synonymous terms for assisted living could be residential care, board and care, senior living, etc. In assisted living, your loved one will likely have their own apartment unless you or your loved one consents to sharing a room with someone. A private bathroom is most often in the apartment to allow for privacy and dignity. Most facilities will have a kitchenette in the apartment with a sink, microwave, refrigerator, and cupboard space. Each apartment will likely be climate controlled individually. There will be access to common areas such as a t.v. room, an activity room, dining room, library, sitting areas, etc.
Assisted living facilities vary in size. In what is termed a small assisted living facility, you will have 16 or fewer apartments/rooms (much like a residential home). In what is called a large facility, you will have more than16 apartments/rooms and up to over 100 apartments/rooms. A typical day for your loved one in an assisted living facility could be that she (we’ll assume it’s your mother or grandma) will wake up Monday morning around 6:45 and receive assistance for a shower (which she receives on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) from the aide that she now knows and feels comfortable with. Breakfast will be available in the dining room (where she will usually be given her morning medication as needed) beginning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 9:00 a.m. So she can make her way down there when it’s convenient between that 1 ½ hours. If she wants to have someone help her down there because she is too weak or she doesn’t remember how to get there, she can push her pendant/call light and an aide will arrive within a few short minutes to assist her. Morning exercises will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the activity room where she will do some stretches, leg lifts, rubber-band stretches, pole raises, etc. Card playing is directly after morning exercises so she will stay in the activity room to play UNO, Sevens, or another simple game with other residents. At 10:30 a.m. she can choose to take a scenic drive in the facility’s van that has a wheelchair lift, read the paper or a book near the fireplace in the lobby, or return to her room to watch her favorite television program. Lunch will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. after which she might return to her apartment (which is completely furnished with her personal belongings) to rest for a little while. At 2:00 p.m. there will be a cooking demonstration on how to make chocolate covered bananas either from a staff member or volunteer (the facility would love to have a family member be the one to do the cooking demo on a family’s favorite treat). At 3:00 p.m. a concert pianist will be coming to perform on the grand piano in the activity room and this might last 45 minutes. Dinner begins to be served at 4:30 p.m. and ends at 6:00 p.m. so she can arrive anytime before 6:00 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., after you’ve gotten off work and had dinner with the kids, you stop by to see what your mother did for the day and she is too tired to even talk about. Actually, she can pick and choose which activities draw her attention more and only attend those. All in all, assisted living is a great option for seniors who are either unable to care for some of their basic needs or who just want to have someone to be around for a good time. If you’re searching for an assisted living facility in Utah, you’ll want to visit us online for several reasons.
Don’t hesitate to call us either. We do not charge you anything for advice and we don’t try to sell anything to you. I guarantee it. Call (801) 492-4115 or toll free (866) 979-9989. You can also email us at Admin@AssistedLivingUtah.com.
