While 80% of adults prefer to stay at home as they age, senior living communities like Gold Choice offer unique benefits you just can’t get at home! Offering assisted living with memory care in Deltona, Palm Coast, and Ormond Beach, Gold Choice senior living communities provide seniors with a high quality of life through engaging social activities, personalized care and support, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere that feels like home.
To help you make an informed decision about your loved one’s senior care options, we’ve outlined the benefits and challenges of aging at home, versus at an assisted living and memory care community like Gold Choice. Let’s take a moment and break it down!
Aging at Home/In Home Care
Pros:
- Familiar surroundings: Some seniors feel more comfortable remaining in their own homes due to the connection they feel with their physical home and possessions. Remaining in a familiar place also helps them preserve a sense of personal identity.
- Personalized care: Even without a close family member serving as a caregiver, in home care services can be tailored to meet seniors’ individual needs, schedules, and preferences, ranging from as-needed visits to daily or live-in services. Emergency medical care, however, can be more difficult to access immediately, compared to community settings that offer a variety of medical options on campus.
- Autonomy: Seniors who age at home tend to enjoy making their own choices about what to eat for lunch or how to spend their day, and doubt that they will be able to have such independence in a senior living community.
Cons:
- Safety Issues: Falls are one of the leading causes of injury in older adults. According to the CDC, more than 300,000 are hospitalized each year from broken hips, with 95% due to a fall. To level up protection at home, homes may require costly modifications like non-slip flooring, wheelchair ramps, and more.
- Social isolation: Even with occasional family visits or outings, seniors who age at home often experience reduced social interaction apart from with caregivers. Studies have linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risk of physical and mental conditions like heart disease, obesity, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and more.
- Burden on caregivers: When it comes to dementia care, navigating the combination of various primary care providers, specialists, social services, medication management, and caregiver support can be difficult for caregivers to manage. In comparison, at senior living communities like Gold Choice, residents can find all those disparate providers in one place.
Senior Living Communities Offering Assisted Living with Memory Care
Pros:
- Round-the-clock care and support: Senior living communities like Gold Choice that offer assisted living with memory care provide 24/7 professional support and assistance and emergency support, all in one place. Our Quality Monitor Program ensures residents receive continuous medical oversight tailored to their unique needs, while our memory care programs offer a combination of structured routines, stimulating cognitive therapies, gentle behavioral interventions, and personalized support, all provided by staff specially trained in dementia care.
- Social engagement: Assisted living communities offer structured activities so that residents stay physically active, mentally acute, and socially engaged. At Gold Choice, our selection of activities and programs include game nights, fitness classes, cultural activities, community outings, movies, parties, and more.
- Cost: While it may be surprising to some, aging in place can often become more expensive than life in a community. At senior living communities like Gold Choice, we are dedicated to working with you to find a financial solution to make your residence here possible. We accept Medicaid and Veteran’s Benefits and offer special deals for veterans and their spouses through our exclusive Patriot Promotion.
- Safety: Senior living communities that offer assisted living and memory care have designed their community infrastructure with risks to seniors in mind. Safety accommodations at Gold Choice senior living communities include accessible bathrooms, handrails, 24/7 emergency response systems, and more.
Cons:
- Social compatibility: Residents who live at home may not be used to interacting with other seniors and require some time to adjust. To ensure residents stay engaged, our quality monitors check in with each resident daily and invite them to activities, reporting any concerning changes in status to our Resident Services Care Team.
- Self-direction: For those seniors who prize their personal independence, the structured schedules and guidelines of a community setting may feel restrictive. However, at Gold Choice, our staff supports residents in maintaining their independence, encouraging them to broaden their horizons by exploring the community, interacting with residents and staff, and taking advantage of the wide range of activities we offer.
- Adjustment challenges: Leaving the familiar surroundings of home can be emotionally taxing for older adults living at home who have become used to their autonomy. While seniors may need some time to adjust to a new community, Gold Choice’s welcoming, homelike environment and trained transition support team can ease the process. Our friendly staff step in from day one to help residents feel comfortable and safe, so they can get excited to enjoy their next chapter with us!
While the best option for your aging loved one depends on many factors, our experienced team at Gold Choice Senior Living, offering assisted living with memory care, is here to make the choice easy! If you have concerns about your loved one’s safety, social isolation, or increased medical needs, assisted living with memory care at Gold Choice may be the most sensible — and the most enriching — option!
At Gold Choice Senior Living, we’re proud to provide assisted living and memory care solutions that provide dignity, comfort, and value for your aging loved one. Reach out today to speak to a Gold Choice advisor about our communities in Ormond Beach, Deltona, and Palm Coast, or call us to arrange a tour! We also encourage you to download our free ebook, “Your Family’s Guide to Confident & Compassionate Senior Living Decisions” for more advice on choosing the best senior living option for your loved one.