How much freedom does assisted living offer?
My grandmother has lost a lot of mobility due to pain. It's difficult for her to do much but the bare minimum around the house, but she's well enough that she enjoys her home, dogs, and hobbies. She's considering assisted living so that she has fewer responsibilities, but she hates restrictions or being told what she can and cannot do. I think she'd agree with the description "aggressively independent." Would she feel free enough to enjoy her normal life in an assisted living situation? What are her options?
Answers ( 1 )
Assisted living is congregate living, so there are some rules- no wild parties in your apartment, just a few pets, usually no actual cooking in the apartment, but aggressive microwaving is allowed. Likely a Crockpot and an air fryer/Foodi, too.
If your Grandmother is accepted into an ALF setting (Assisted Living Facility) exactly what rules over independence are in place are up to the facility. Most ALFs are private pay, and the customer is always right, so it behooves the ALF management to keep their tenents happy- which isn't the usual emotion considered when there are a bunch of nit-picky rules over people who are spending a metric manure ton of money for an L-shaped apartment, maybe 400 square feet of space- even if meals are included!
What ALFs provide, really, is "medical peace of mind". Grandmom may have a lot of medications, and she gets them mixed up easily; Grandad may be less-than-enthusiastic about getting out of his recliner much anymore at all since Grandmom passed, one or the other of them is healthy seeming, but has developed syncope and faints every few days out of the blue- how long is her hip going ot hold out? These are just the type of folks ALFs were made for.
Each ALF company has its own set of rules; I have worked in some wherein a licensed nurse was on premises 24-hours a day, and personal staff were all certified, and a Resident could not manage their own medications unless deemed capable of it by Nursing Staff. I've known others which any service other than room and board cost extra, so most folks were high functioning enough to not need extra help. In one, Residents were allowed their car if they had a driver's license issued within a month of move-in. So, it's according to.
Likely, if she is generally independent other than mobility issues, she won't find an ALF too confining. But, if she is on strong doses of pain medication, and doesn't get around by walker or wheelchair well, she likely has low endurance, which might impinge a bit on being out and about in public- but, also, might not. She will have to look around at a few ALFs and see what each offers her. Check with your local Area Agency on Aging for a list of such places- even Assisted Group Homes, too, if your area licenses them.
ALFs are usually nice places, and a sort of bridge to rest on when complete independence might be more than a person wants to bite off anymore. Far more enjoyable than the highly regimented Skilled Nursing Facility, they usually have excellent food, daily transportation for shopping, medical appointments, banking and other normal errands, plus a calendar of activities to enjoy without ever leaving the building. You should both check them out.