There comes a time when extra day-to-day care and attention become necessary to help provide quality and comfort in life. There are many wonderful options that can provide this type of care for our senior friends. These options can vary from nursing homes to independent living communities. Each option will provide a different level of care with varying benefits and opportunities for seniors. The decision of which living circumstance is best for you will depend on your personal preferences and factors. Assisted living is a viable option for seniors in a variety of circumstances because of the wide range of services they make available to their residents.
Sometimes seniors are hesitant to make a needed change to assisted living because of some of the myths and misconceptions they hear. One of these common myths is that in assisted living, there is no privacy. We’re here to help you understand the reasons why that isn’t true, and the services that assisted living does offer in order to help ensure the privacy of their beloved residents.
No Privacy in Assisted Living
We’ve all heard stories of that annoying roommate in college. Thinking about going back to a shared living condition as a senior sounds terrible. But even with an absence of a roommate, isn’t there the constant flow of nurses and caregivers coming and going? How does a resident in assisted living find any privacy when they are surrounded by caregivers and other people in the same stage of life as them?
If any of these thoughts have crossed your mind, there’s a good reason why you might be hesitant to join assisted living.
Assisted Living Layout
The truth of the matter is that assisted living is set up like a typical apartment complex – minus the roommates. With the exception of a few budget friendly options, each resident will have their very own apartment, not just their own bedroom. That means a personal bathroom, living room, and kitchen all to themselves. Each resident has the freedom to decorate, furnish, and organize their living space according to their desires and personal taste.
Visitors and Caregivers
Your apartment is your living space, and that means that you’ll only ever have visitors when you want them. No one, caregiver or friend, will ever enter your apartment without your permission or prior consent. Depending on your individual circumstances, your caregiver may visit you regularly to help take care of your day-to-day needs. However, this doesn’t need to be an invasion of your privacy. The assisted living staff will work with you to coordinate a schedule around your personal needs that can help them fulfill their role as caregivers, and help protect and ensure your privacy. In essence, your caregivers will show up on your schedule so that you can know when to plan for visitors and when you can have time alone.
Social Activities
Assisted living facilities commonly provide a large variety of social activities for their residents to enhance their lives and promote friendships and connections between the residents. It is important to understand that even though there are many opportunities for social interaction available, no resident is obligated to participate in the activities. This means that any day, at any time, a resident has full liberty to have the privacy and time alone they desire.
Privacy in Assisted Living
There are many fallacies connected to assisted living facilities, including the misconception that there is no privacy. The truth is that assisted living facilities help ensure privacy to their residents through the layout of the living space, schedules of caregivers and visitors, and flexibility of social activities. Everyone deserves to have privacy no matter what stage of life they are in. The Gables understands this, and have taken measures to allow their residents to have the privacy they need and deserve.
We love our residents here at The Gables. If you are looking for a place to find care while still maintaining your privacy, contact us today.
