If you are caring for an aging parent or spouse, safety and security become a concern when your loved one’s health begins to decline. As a concerned family member and caregiver, their wellness and safety is your primary goal.

Many older adults prefer to stay in the family home even as their health care needs increase, but over time, it may no longer be practical —or safe for that matter—to stay home. Increasing doctor’s visits and medical needs may require more attention, care, and care coordination than you can provide on your own.

Assuring Senior Wellness and Safety

When an older adult is independent, maintaining holistic wellness is much easier. But with a decline in mobility, chronic illnesses, and increasing isolation, maintaining both physical and emotional wellness can be difficult. With numerous doctor, therapy, and specialist appointments, and multiple medications to remember, even the most organized caregivers can struggle to provide proper care at home.

Caregivers and families face a variety of responsibilities and challenges when caring for an aging parent:

• Transportation to doctor’s visits
• Ensuring social connection and companionship
• Managing medications
• Coping with dementia agitation and confusion
• Maintaining physical and cognitive function
• Assuring proper nutrition and hydration

Safety may be even more difficult to maintain in the family home. One reason is that your loved one’s changing physical and cognitive status may involve making significant changes to the home environment. Household tasks that once seemed effortless may suddenly become a safety hazard, putting your loved one at risk for injury.

To ensure your loved one’s safety in the home, evaluate important accessibility features and abilities such as:

• Bathroom accessibility
• Ability to climb stairs
• Emergency preparedness
• Driving ability
• Fraud and scam protection
• Dressing and bathing
• Cooking
• Laundry
• Wandering

Wellness and Safety in Assisted Living and Memory Care

As caregiving begins to take up more of your time and energy, you may wonder if it’s time to ask for help. Here are some questions that can help you determine if the time is right to seek assisted living support and long-term care services:

• Is it too expensive to make accessibility changes to the home?
• Are there safety concerns such as wandering or leaving the stove on?
• Has medical care become too complicated?
• Has the cost of in-home care exceeded the cost of assisted living?
• Is your loved one isolated and depressed?
• Do you have symptoms of caregiver burnout?

Is assisted living or memory care safer and healthier? Yes, and there are numerous reasons for this. Following a comprehensive Home Wellness and Safety Assessment, a complete care plan is tailored specifically to your loved one’s physical and emotional health needs. Many senior living communities in Florida offer on-site health and wellness services, further reducing the need for caregivers to coordinate care for their loved one.

Here are just a few of the on-site wellness services offered by Sonata Senior Living communities:

On-Site Wellness and Support Services in Senior Communities

Sonata offers access to essential wellness services such as visiting physicians; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; and electronic medical records (EMR) for seamless communications to healthcare providers. We may also provide scheduled transportation to outside medical appointments.

Once your loved one moves to Sonata, our support continues and never stops. Continuous attention to health needs, including diet and nutrition, activities, and fitness programs, provides a foundation for your loved one to maintain their health and well-being, longer. Meanwhile, you can spend quality time with your loved one rather than worry about their wellness and safety.

The Convenience of Health Care Services in Senior Living

We work closely with local health care providers to offer residents the convenience of on-site medical services. On-site health care services help families by bringing essential health care services to Sonata, removing the need for families and caregivers to coordinate doctor’s visits and therapy appointments. Families love the convenience and privacy of having health care delivered directly to their loved one.

Sonata Senior Living partners with local health care providers who visit regularly, including:

• Visiting physicians who conduct on-site “house calls” at Sonata
• Specialty physicians such as podiatrists
• Visiting nurses (VNAs) who provide skilled care such as post-surgical wound care as appropriate
• Physical, occupational and speech therapists

Safety Features in Senior Living

Accessibility and safety features are an integral part of wellness in senior living communities. Our round-the-clock care and assistance with activities of daily living ensure safe transfers, bathing, and medication management. Other features of our Sonata Safe Signature Program include:

• Short-term stays or “respite care”
• Scheduled transportation
• Licensed nursing 24/7
• The latest innovations in sanitation technologies
• Controlled building access and monitored security cameras
• Wireless e-call system and sensor devices for faster response times
• Hurricane preparedness plans and generator systems that assure backup power

Safety is often a primary concern for those with Alzheimer’s or dementia and one of many reasons why families seek memory care support. At Serenades Memory Care by Sonata, a person-centered approach keeps residents safe while encouraging independence.

Whether your loved one needs assisted living or memory care, Sonata’s commitment to safety and wellness will give you added peace of mind.