For the Family

Welcome to a new era in senior living. Recent groundbreaking research from NORC at the University of Chicago, funded by NIC, is changing how we see senior living communities, including the ones we operate here at ABHM. By studying older adults who moved into these communities in 2017, the research uncovered surprising—and reassuring—insights into their health and longevity. Get ready to rethink aging and senior living.

A Longer Lease on Life
Let’s talk numbers. The study found that people who made the move to senior living communities lived, on average, more than a week longer than their counterparts living in the greater community.

More Than Four Walls: Access to Vital Care
Senior housing isn’t just about providing a roof overhead; it’s about fostering an environment where residents can thrive. And part of that thriving comes from access to essential healthcare services. The study revealed that people in senior living communities received a notable uptick in home health care services—10 days more, to be exact—compared to their peers living elsewhere. From routine check-ups to more specialized care, this increased access ensures that residents have the support they need to stay healthy.

It doesn’t stop there. Individuals in senior living communities received an additional four days of preventative and rehabilitative health services at home. This proactive approach to health management not only addresses issues as they arise but also works to prevent them from occurring in the first place.

Less Reliance on Meds, More Emphasis on Well-Being
In a world where medications often seem like the go-to solution for every ailment, it’s refreshing to see a different approach emerging within senior living. The study found that residents spent three fewer days on anti-psychotic medications compared to those living elsewhere. This is a shift toward a more balanced, personalized approach to care—one that treats the individual, not just the symptoms.

Finding Balance: Independence and Support
The study revealed that those in senior living communities spent a similar amount of time away from home for high-acuity care as seniors dwelling elsewhere. In other words, residents enjoy the best of both worlds: the independence to live life on their terms, coupled with the peace of mind knowing that support is there when they need it.

Redefining What It Means to Age Gracefully
Senior living communities are prioritizing access to vital care, promoting preventative measures, and fostering a sense of community and support. As our population continues to age, this a message worth celebrating!

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Our Decision Guide is designed to help you make good decisions for your future or that of a loved one. There are many factors to consider — financial security, ongoing healthcare, and overall safety and well-being. Our guide offers many answers, however as you go through this process please feel free to contact us anytime should you require more information.

Assisted Living Concerns

Often adult children are suddenly required to make living arrangements for their parents that include moving to safer surroundings. Helping loved ones make good decisions about their future can often be stressful and at times even overwhelming. We understand and have gathered the following information to help you make the best decision and assist you through the process. We offer information and answer several key questions that are often asked, and hope this will help you create a plan that makes sense for you and your loved one.

What is Assisted Living?

Our assisted living apartments combine easy to maintain housing and personal care in a beautiful residential setting. Trained staff is available 24 hours a day to provide support for those who need assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing and medications, but do not yet require complex medical services. Residents enjoy delicious, freshly-prepared noon and evening meals each day and a variety of snacks. The private assisted living apartments feature a living room, bedroom, a private bathroom with walk-in shower, and a kitchenette with an apartment-size refrigerator and microwave for quick and easy preparation of meals and snacks. Assisted living apartments share spacious common areas that include a living room, dining room and activity spaces. Assisted Living residents also enjoy the many on-campus amenities that are available.

How do I know when it’s time for Assisted Living?

Safety first! If the home or current living situation is cause for concern, it’s time to consider a change and assisted living may be the answer. Signs you should watch for that indicate a change is needed are: personal hygiene changes, clothes worn repeatedly or not laundered, confusion with medications, poor nutrition, reoccurring falls, isolation and/or forgetfulness. If you have noticed any of these symptoms consider moving your loved one to a community where they can receive the services and benefits of specialized care and you have peace of mind. Before moving to assisted living, residents are given a full comprehensive nursing assessment to determine the level of care needed, this will also provide pertinent information to help guide needed decisions.

Continuing Care Retirement Community

As a CCRC, we feature several levels of care and living services.  Residents in our rehabilitation area have the convenience of moving from their rehab stay directly to our assisted living, should they require that level of care. The transition is quick, easy and relaxed because residents and family are in familiar surroundings and much of the paperwork is already in place.

What about Memory Care?

For seniors with memory concerns, we memory care. This area of the community serves those with Alzheimer’s or other cognitive impairments. They have private apartments with their own private bathroom.

How do I approach my loved one about moving to Assisted Living?

Often when adult children contact us, it’s after or during a healthcare crisis, hospital stay, during a rehab stay or a drastic health decline. In this situation you can rely on healthcare professionals to recommend the best setting for your family member. They have the ability to properly assess and help determine what the needs really are. The decision for the health and safety of your loved one should, of course, take precedence over the desire to return to the home of 50 years with all the memories and the multiple, unused, china sets. The recommendation and the expression of your own concern for their safety and well-being will set your family on the right course. After a decision is made family members find a sense of relief and can return to being the son or the daughter, rather than being the caretaker who is overwhelmed. Assisted Living offers residents opportunity to remain as independent as possible while enjoying the security of 24-hour assistance if needed.

Avoiding a Crisis – It’s important to know you don’t need to wait for a crisis or accident to consider a move to Assisted Living. Many residents and families tour our community and learn about the program and see apartments long before any kind of health issue arises. Once they see our assisted living wing and meet the happy residents their concerns are put aside and they welcome the change. Making the transition under these conditions is more desirable and less stressful than having to react to an emergency situation.

I want peace of mind knowing my loved one is safe and secure.

We provide around-the-clock services and observation. This means you can be assured our staff is there to support your loved one and keep you informed. For each new resident we create an individualized care plan that monitors their well-being, and if changes do occur we are able to adapt and make certain they are attended to immediately and appropriately.

Personal care in assisted living typically includes:
  • Staff available to respond to both scheduled and unscheduled needs
  • Assistance with eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and walking
  • Access to health and medical services, such as physical therapy and hospice
  • Emergency call systems for each resident’s apartment plus a personal pendant
  • Medication management
  • Care for residents with cognitive impairment
  • Social services and Pastoral care

The majority of senior communities charge month-to-month rates.  Several of the primary factors that determine rates are apartment size and level of care or service needed by the resident. When looking at options it’s important to know what you are getting for your dollar.

Assisted living provides the opportunity for continued socialization and activities, balanced nutrition, and the peace of mind that assistance is always nearby. The basic monthly assisted living rate includes a majority of personal services and meals. Learn more about payment options by visiting our Financial Information page.

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National Family Caregivers Month has been spearheaded by the Caregiver Action Network since 1994 and formally recognized since 1997, when President Clinton signed the first annual NFC Month Presidential Proclamation.

NFC Month recognizes the more than 40 million caregivers taking care of aging parents, sick spouses, or other loved ones with illness or disability. Caregivers spend an average of 13 days every month on caregiving activities, equivalent to an economic value of $500 billion in unpaid services—three times more than annual Medicaid spending on long-term care. However, because it’s a labor of love, this hard work goes largely unseen and unrecognized for most of the year.

“Family caregivers have an immeasurable impact on the lives of those they assist, but their hours are long and their work is hard. Many put their own lives on hold to lift up someone close to them,” President Barack Obama said in his National Family Caregiver Month Proclamation in 2012. “National Family Caregivers Month is a time to reflect on the compassion and dedication that family caregivers embody every day.”

According to the Caregiver Action Network, November is our opportunity to celebrate the efforts of family caregivers, increase our support, raise awareness for caregiver issues, and educate caregivers about self-identification. The 2019 theme for NFC Month is #BeCareCurious. This theme encourages caregivers to be proactive and engaged when it comes to their loved one’s care, whether that’s in the doctor’s office, in the hospital, or at home.

This month, make an extra effort to #BeCareCurious about:

  • Your Loved One’s Goals: Having hard conversations about treatment goals in the face of a serious disease is challenging for everyone involved, but these discussions are necessary to ensure your loved one is receiving the care they really want.
  • Treatment Options: If your loved one isn’t responding well to their current treatment, ask their doctor about other options. When you’re not feeling well, it can be hard to be your own advocate. That’s why they’re lucky to have you in the room with them.
  • Research: The internet is a great resource for understanding the basics of a loved one’s condition, but it can also be a mess of conflicting and inaccurate advice. Don’t stop at Google. Follow up with your loved one’s doctors to get the full picture.
  • The Care Plan: After a loved one is discharged from the hospital, most of the follow-up care will happen at home. Make sure you understand what they will need in the weeks to come. Ask questions about medications, care procedures, and future appointments.
  • Coverage: Be vocal when it comes to insurance coverage and do your research to fully understand the ins and outs of your loved one’s plan. This will make life easier for you and will help avoid any expensive surprises.

Acting as a family caregiver is not an easy job. It adds stress and complication to your life no matter how willingly and lovingly the care is given. But as they say, knowledge is power. The more you know about your loved one’s goals, needs, and situation, the more confident and capable you’ll feel as their caregiver.

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Did you know? April is Stress Awareness Month.

The feeling of stress can oftentimes derail our lives. If we get too stressed, we have a hard time concentrating on other things in life, many times the important parts of our lives like, overall happiness and joy.

Especially as a senior, life can seem stressful. Whether you may be stressed about an upcoming move to a senior living community or other factors that can cause stress, it’s important to take the time for yourself to rest and relax.

Here are five ways for seniors to de-stress:

1. Start a new hobby:

While this may seem a bit odd, activities that keep you busy but also encourage socialization can greatly reduce stress. Whether you want to start a book club in your community, pick up a new card game or grab a friend and start a garden (indoor or out!), you’ll quickly realize focusing your thoughts elsewhere is just a simple way to reduce your stress. 

2. Exercise:

Improving your overall physical health is one of the best ways to improve your mental health. Exercise has been proven to reduce stress and improve your mood.

You don’t have to pound the pavement to enjoy the benefits of exercise. Especially during the summertime when heatstroke and dehydration are greater concerns, low-impact activities can be a great option for seniors looking to get in their daily steps or 30 minutes of cardio. Here you can find four low-impact activities you can enjoy outside.

3. Learn to meditate:

Meditation is a great way to focus on being present and pay attention to your breathing. It’s one of the simplest ways to reduce stress.

To start meditating, pay attention to your thoughts and feelings, relax your body. It might seem easy enough, but meditation—based on traditional Buddhist practices—requires you to be completely alone with your thoughts, and can actually take some time to “train your brain” to stop wandering. Get A Beginner’s Guide to Mindfulness Meditation here.

Now that you have three ways you can start to de-stress, which will you choose? They all are great for finding ways to remove the stress from your life and begin to enjoy it!

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When you or a loved one is planning to move to a senior living community, there are a lot of factors that go into your decision. From financial planning and personal preferences to health and wellness needs, this decision can feel stressful.

Let us walk you through five very important items to go over in order to get yourself or a loved one ready to move into a senior community.

  1. Community Decision: Look into communities that you or your loved one would feel most at home. If you’re located in Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin or Nebraska, maybe American Baptist Homes is the place for you. Our goal is to promote an active, engaged and independent lifestyle amongst residents, ensuring that their safety and comfort is top of mind. Check out our communities here!

See Our Communities Here

  1. Financial Information: At ABHM, we are always open and honest about our financials with you. See more about how your money will be used here at ABHM. Read more about our financial information below.

See Financial Information Here

  1. Services Needed: It’s vital to talk to you or your loved one’s doctor and see what type of senior living community you or they would need. Whether it’s an independent living community or if an assisted living community is necessary, it will help to know this before you move.

See Living Decision Guides Here

  1. Personal Preferences: All communities are different. It’s always a good idea to look into a community’s mission statement and make sure it aligns with your personal preferences, goals and needs.

Read Our Mission Statement

  1. Downsizing Tips: One of the hardest parts of moving for a senior sometimes, is the idea of downsizing and getting rid of some of their items—it’s an emotional process. Parting with some seemingly unimportant items can be hard. Learn more on how to help your loved one downsize below.

The Lowdown on Downsizing

At American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, we want your move to a senior living community to be as seamless and simple as possible. We are here for you. We have been providing senior healthcare services throughout our Midwest senior living communities for over 85 years.

If you’re interested in learning more about one of our many senior living communities and the lifestyle services and care provided, please contact us at 952-941-3175.

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