How to Prepare a Loved One for a Move to Assisted Living

Assisted living and memory care facilities offer plenty of perks and very few downsides, but your loved one will likely need lots of support and information as they come to accept such a hefty transition. With that being said, here is how you can help your family member get ready to move into assisted living. 

Discuss Why Memory Care Is Important

Before your loved one moves into a senior living facility, they must recognize the importance of such an impactful life change. Otherwise, they will feel abandoned and overwhelmed. 

Memory care offers unique advantages that family caregivers cannot always match. For example, assisted living facilities offer numerous amenities and chances to engage in recreational activities, which will allow your loved one to maintain their social life and enjoy their hobbies with plenty of support. 

Memory care and senior living establishments also ensure your loved one’s safety and health. If they know why their memory care is necessary, they are more likely to experience a smoother shift into assisted living. 

Help Them Prepare Their Belongings

One of the primary concerns that aging adults often have about memory care regards their possessions. They often believe that they’ll have to throw away all of their belongings to move into assisted living.

In actuality, that couldn’t be any farther from the truth. Many senior living communities offer spacious living accommodations where aging adults can store all of their belongings for daily use. 

You can help your family members go through their possessions and pick out the most important things to take with them. Doing so will help them feel prepared and secure as they move into senior living. 

Tour the Facility with Them

It’s always a good idea to prepare your loved one for what is coming next, and that includes taking them on a tour of their assisted living facility. 

It’s likely you may have completed the tour already, but now is the time for your loved one to check out their new community. Allow them to see the different buildings and recreational activities that they can enjoy once they move in. 

Make Plans to Visit Often

Your loved one will feel better about moving into assisted living if they know that you plan to visit them frequently. Their fears about being abandoned are understandable, and they need to know that they are supported no matter what. 

Come up with a flexible visitation schedule that you can follow according to the assisted living facility’s policies. Your loved one may not always precisely remember the schedule, but a promise of consistency will help to ease their fears. 

Help Your Loved One Transition into Memory Care 

Preparation is the most important factor in a successful and smooth transition into assisted living. Senior living communities offer many benefits for their residents, and your loved one will be in great hands. Make sure they know that as they prepare for their big move.