Five Critical Extras for Modern Retirement Communities
Looking for senior living facilities and retirement communities as options for a loved one? Here are a number of new exciting amenities and services that the best communities are putting into their service models.
Today's retirement communities are more than just "clean, well lighted places." Seniors need modern buildings and infrastructure that are in good condition, but they also benefit from extra services and improvements that make these places more desirable destinations for seniors.
Restaurants
The food service model for modern retirement communities is changing from a cafeteria-style to a restaurant-style experience. The best administrators are realizing that there is a value-added component to offering restaurants and cafés to make a retirement community seem more like a corporate campus or university than a convalescent home. Look for neat franchises or internally run food-service businesses in a retirement complex.
Group Activities
To a large extent, retirement community leaders also plan outings and events for residents. Although there may need to be criteria for these sorts of travel, programs like these can really make a senior living facility more vibrant and contribute to a much more positive image of these sorts of businesses.
Financial Planning
Modern retirement homes are also getting much more proactive about helping seniors to do financial planning. One excellent example is the range of services that retirement homes are offering for preparing healthy and mobile residents for the possibility of skilled nursing services later in life. With extra planning services, residents are able to invest against their need for skilled nursing care as they age.
Access for Family
Another major plus for a retirement home is an easy and accessible policy and infrastructure for getting seniors out to family meetings and other family events. The best homes have available shuttles or vehicles and accessible training programs for family members who want to use wheelchair lifts and other equipment.
Matching Residential Abilities
Many retirement communities are also now creating separate facilities for seniors with different levels of ability and proactivity. For example, a community of Alzheimer's patients may need a very different living environment than a community of mobile and active seniors in good physical and mental health. By promoting various levels of communal living, retirement communities allow more options for seniors in different conditions and with different needs.
Think about whether local retirement homes offer these sorts of concessions to support a more enjoyable experience for your loved one.
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