Choosing Denver assisted living for your aging parent is a great idea. However, some offers might seem too good to be true, and in some cases they are. If you want to make sure that your elderly parent receives the best possible care, therefore, you have to be cautious in evaluating what each facility has to offer, while knowing exactly what types of services and care your family member truly needs.
Establish Your Checklist and Check Out Each Offer
The first thing you have to do is find out what your aging parent needs. For this purpose, sit down with them and consider all of their physical and mental health needs. Are they more or less sociable? What types of physical or mental disorders are they already suffering from? Would they benefit from going to the gym? All these details have to be established before you even go out looking for an assisted living center.
Once you’re finished, the main purpose is evaluating each facility that you are considering. At this point, you’ll see that it goes well beyond just the actual care services and amenities that are available. Sure, it’s great if the facility has a good gym, and if the staff is trained to handle patients with dementia. But you also have to consider in what way and how quickly they can communicate with you if there is an accident or if the condition of your aging family member deteriorates.
Make sure you actually visit the best assisted living facilities Denver has yourself and take note of how the residents are being taken care of. Ask questions about the staff’s training and medical skills, and make sure they suit the standards that you have established your aging parent needs as part of your checklist.
It’s also good to ask for a copy of the schedule that each assisted living facility offers, since each has their own unique activities and events that family members can often join in on during their visits. Also, it’s good practice to check and see whether your aging parents will be able to benefit from meals and transportation services as part of the advertised price, or if certain benefits and amenities are only offered for an extra fee.
Be very careful of the payment options and plans you are offered, as they may not advertise the facility’s policy of asking for additional fees. Make sure that you know exactly what you have to pay for before agreeing to take your family member to any facility whatsoever.
Compare Your Findings
Comparing what you find is very important, since it will ultimately allow you to make your final decision as to which assisted living facilities Denver options to choose.
The comparison has to include not just the price, but the individual costs per each service, what advanced services are provided, what medical care services are available and how tidy/clean each facility is. If you visit an expensive facility and notice that they don’t keep up with their cleaning properly, for example, that can already signal that there might be some additional hidden issues and red flags there.
Most importantly, pay extra attention at the demeanor of the staff as they greet you. Are they friendly? Do they greet you with transparency and openness? These issues have to be carefully evaluated, since those people will ultimately be in charge of the type and level of care that your aging parent will receive.