How Assisted Living Services Can Help

No matter who you are, being a caregiver for a senior in need isn’t easy – even if it’s someone you care a lot about, like your parent or other aging loved one. In many ways, it’s a much more challenging undertaking than most of us face in our day-to-day jobs. Luckily, there’s a type of senior living care that can give your loved one the support they need and offer your whole family more peace of mind – assisted living. Better yet, finding the right kind of support can help you avoid the risk of caregiver burnout. Keep reading to learn more.

Caregiver providing care for an elderly woman sitting down

What Is Caregiver Burnout – and How Can You Avoid It?

Whether you’re a home care professional or simply a concerned loved one, it’s likely that you’ve felt some kind of caregiver burnout. Although it’s common for adult child caregivers to feel guilty about being frustrated, tired or overwhelmed, it’s important to remember that these feelings are acceptable – and even people who work in senior care full time can experience them. With all of the other things that most adults have to handle on a daily basis (like raising kids, going to work and meeting their financial obligations), it’s no wonder that caregiver burnout is extremely common.

If that sounds like something you’ve experienced, you’re not alone. Try these tips and tactics to make things a little easier:

Reach out for help. When it comes to caring for your loved ones, the whole family can find a role to play. Whether you split caregiving duties on a daily basis or decide to give each family member a single task, dividing the work helps to even the effort.
Seek the support of respite care. Respite care – also commonly known as short-stay elder care or adult day care – gives you the latitude to do the things you want and need to do. Whether you’re going to jury duty or going on vacation, you can rely on respite care to provide the qualified, compassionate support that your loved one needs.
Go with long-term assisted living. Ultimately, when it comes to making sure your loved one has the best support available, there is no replacement for an assisted living community. In the next section, we’ll go into a little more detail about assisted living and what it can do for your loved one.

Caregiver Buttoning Up The Shirt Of an Elderly Woman

What Can Assisted Living Offer?

Assisted living communities are very different from nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities. Instead of nursing care, assisted living is about giving your loved one the support they need to live independently for as long as possible – in fact, studies show that moving to an assisted living facility can help delay or prevent nursing home placement. Whether they’re part of a larger community or a stand-alone building, assisted living caregivers offer a helping hand with the vital activities of daily living.

To get a clearer picture of how assisted living can help your loved one, consider the following:

Caregivers stay out of the way whenever possible. At an assisted living community, your loved one will find incredible care and daily support, including help with bathing, dressing and other necessities. Caregivers aren’t there to tell residents what they can or can’t do – instead, they work to find ways to make seniors’ lives easier, smoother and more enjoyable.
There’s plenty to do. Forget any ideas you might have had about an assisted living community being boring. In reality, many communities offer the opportunity to enjoy cultural events and field trips to nearby shopping centers and landmarks. Ultimately, what your loved one chooses to do is entirely up to them.
Your loved one sets the pace. An assisted living community isn’t a tightly controlled environment like a hospital or skilled nursing center – when it comes to where residents go, when they leave and what they do, they’re the boss. And their privacy won’t be interrupted, either – caregivers won’t enter an apartment without the resident’s permission.
They’ll meet likeminded people. Like we said earlier, senior living communities aren’t nursing homes. The older adults who live in these communities are active, engaged and eager to meet new friends. No matter who your loved one is, they’ll find someone to spend time with.

Two residents with cups of tea having a chat outside.

Interested in Assisted Living? Contact Us.

Assisted living at The Gables at Charlton Place is purpose-built to offer your loved one more comfort and control. Our talented and compassionate team of caregivers will work with your whole family to devise a plan that addresses your loved one’s biggest needs while ensuring that our support is never overbearing. That’s why so many seniors in Deatsville choose our community.

Our team members are always ready to hear from you. Whether you’re interested in a personal consultation or just want to learn a little more about assisted living, give us a call at 334-290-6990.