What to Look for When Finding a New Home for Seniors

Finding the right housing at any age is difficult. Finding the right housing for seniors is more so. As we age, our abilities and challenges change. Often, changes mean that housing needs to change as well. 

How can you best help the seniors you know find the right housing? It starts with understanding their daily needs. In the end, it’s about finding the best choice to suit their housing and care needs.

Evaluate Daily Needs 

The aging process is different for everyone. Some people are hale and hearty well into their nineties. They may never need to change their living situation. Others face health challenges and limited mobility in their sixties and seventies. 

When health challenges start interfering with daily living tasks, it’s time to evaluate whether a senior needs a different type of housing. 

Some of these daily living tasks include:

• Cleaning chores
• Preparing food
• Shopping for groceries and essentials
• Personal Grooming
• Laundry
• Taking medication correctly
• Moving safely throughout the home, including the bathroom

Once these become a challenge, something needs to change. The person either needs to get help in their current home or they need to find a housing option that can support them in the life they want to live.

Evaluate the Current Home

It makes sense to look first at a senior’s current home. The big question: Is the current home meeting the needs of this person?

There are practical and emotional issues to consider.

• Is the senior safe in the home?
• Does the senior have friends or family nearby?
• Can they maintain the size of the home they live in?
• Are there stairs to navigate? What floor is the bedroom on? The laundry?
• Does the person use all the space they have? Do some rooms sit empty?
• Does the person enjoy their home? 

Answering these questions gives you an idea of the type of housing that may be needed.

Consider At-Home Accommodations 

Not every senior whose needs are changing needs to move. There are a lot of accommodations and interventions that can occur within the home. 

• Home Health Care Assistance: There are many service providers that help seniors in their home. They assist with tasks like grocery shopping, preparing meals, cleaning, and laundry. They also provide companionship. In-home assistance can help seniors stay in their homes for longer.
• Carry Out a Home Safety Assessment: A home safety assessment can point out areas that pose risks to the individual. Things like blocked entryways, inaccessible kitchen tools, and slippery surfaces should be addressed. Other considerations are poor lighting, loose handrails, and exposed wires. A home safety assessment should make suggestions for home modifications that can create a safe place for the individual.
• Have an At-Home Health Evaluation Done: Primary care physicians can write a referral for a safety and daily functioning evaluation. An occupational therapist observes how the individual carries out daily tasks, such as opening cans of food, getting dressed, making coffee, and taking medication. Their report highlights concerns and make suggestions for improvement.

Involve Family and Caregivers

Family members often provide caregiving services for seniors. They may step in to manage finances, act as an advocate for health issues, or help with personal care. 

Anyone providing care will have valuable insight to offer. Be sure to include them in discussions about housing needs.

Some issues to consider when looking for the right senior housing are:

• Current physical, cognitive, and emotional health
• Projected health issues
• Level of independence
• Interests and preferences
• Need or desire for social interaction

Look at Finances

Finances play a huge role in finding the right housing for seniors. The unfortunate reality is not everyone has the finances to pay for their ideal housing situation. This is especially true when the ideal situation involves a lot of care. Finances are a primary consideration in choosing senior housing.

Senior Housing Options

Once a senior decides they’re ready for a different housing situation, there are a lot of options to consider. There pros and cons for each.

• Living with Family: Intergenerational living is on the rise in the U.S. Assuming that family members get along, it can offer a lot of advantages for everyone involved.

People in the sandwich generation, the ones raising kids as their parents enter their older years, can get benefits on both ends. Kids and the grandparents can entertain one another while the parents make dinner and fold laundry. 

Kids can benefit from extra attention, and grandparents can avoid the social isolation that many elderly people experience.

• 55+ Housing: Sometimes simply called senior housing, 55+ housing is popular with people who are done taking care of a big house and want to simplify their lives. 55+ housing can offer a built-in community for those who want more social interaction.

Often, 55+ can cost less than maintaining a home, and some 55+ housing units are subsidized for those falling below the income threshold. Homeowners can often sell their house and use the proceeds to supplement their income. 

55+ housing can accommodate a younger and more physically active population as well as older seniors. Most 55+ housing doesn’t provide assistive services. Seniors who need in-home services usually contract with outside providers.

• Assisted Living: People have a lot of confusion about assisted living facilities. Is it an apartment?  Is it a nursing home? Do they provide meals? Can I still drive if I move to assisted living? It all depends on the individual resident and the facility.

Some assisted living facilities (ALFs) operate like a safety net for otherwise independent seniors. They’re there if the residents need something. They usually have an in-house food service, but the residents don’t have to participate. 

ALFs offer programming to residents, like exercise classes and game nights. Some residents take full advantage of the programs. Others do very little.

Some ALFs cater to residents who need more care. Residents may require a certain amount of personal care every day as well as the food services and programming. 

Certain ALFs even offer memory care programs. Staff to resident ratio is higher in these facilities. 

• Continuing Care Retirement Communities: Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) offer a graduated level of care and assistance. Their main selling point is stability. An older person can move into a CCRC and, no matter what level of care they need, they won’t need to move away from the facility. This ensures seniors don’t have to make multiple moves in their later years.

A CCRC adapts to the changing needs of their residence. Because CCRCs offer such a wide range of supports, thy are among the most expensive housing choices.

• Nursing Homes: There’s often not a lot of choice involved when someone needs to move to a nursing care facility. This is sometimes the only option when someone’s health is failing and they can do very little for themselves.

Moving is not an easy process for seniors or their families. If you know someone facing a senior move, please reach out to us. Smooth Transitions can help with all aspects of senior moves.