Living at Proctor Place is Good for Your Health
At the surface, it may be a stretch to believe there are health benefits of living at a senior living community. Sharing what makes it a healthier choice can help be part of the decision process.
When meals are provided, your parent is more likely to eat three balanced meals per day.
Eating regular balanced meals becomes more important as we age. The natural decrease in physical activity and resting metabolic rate results in a decrease in appetite, which can quickly result in weight loss. Rapid weight loss is life threatening. It is referred to as “anorexia of aging.” Residents at senior living communities are provided with healthy meals in regular intervals. This increases the likelihood of maintaining a healthy diet and weight.
Social interaction improves health and helps seniors avoid depression.
As we age, family dynamics change. Adult children start their own lives and oftentimes move away, making regular visits more difficult. Lifelong friendships can also change as people move away from neighborhoods they once all called home. Sometimes moves are caused by a neighborhood that doesn’t feel as safe as it once was. Other friends choose to move to a retirement community to make life easier and more enjoyable. These changes in socialization opportunities can leave seniors feeling isolated and depressed. Living in a community like Proctor Place gives seniors easy ways to rekindle old friendships and make new ones. Plus, it presents endless activities to enjoy.
Seniors are safer in a senior living community.
24-hour surveillance protects your parents from intruders and other threats to safety. It’s unfortunate there are individuals who seek out ways to take advantage of seniors. Included in this are people calling in an attempt sell something not needed and those who pose a more serious threat like burglary. In a protected senior community, these concerns are put to rest.
Living alone increases the risk of serious injury caused by a fall.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are one of the leading causes of injury and death among seniors. This safety risk is increased when a senior lives alone. When a fall happens at home, it’s not unusual for a person to be left unattended for hours or even days before being found. A fall for your parent is different than a fall for you. Many falls leaves seniors unable to move so getting up to call for help can be impossible. There are a number of safeguards that can help protect seniors. Home health emergency services provide a level of responsiveness. The best option remains diligent safety protocols offered through organizations like Proctor Place. We ensures help is provided immediately from a nurse. Having the right person there in an emergency can make all of the difference.
Seniors living alone have an increased risk of medication errors.
With so much to worry about with housekeeping and cleaning, it is easy for your parent to make small medication errors that make a big difference. Many seniors have trouble remembering what time of day to take their medications and which medications to take. In some cases, this challenge is magnified when pharmaceutical companies change what their pills look like. When you parent’s typical green pill is suddenly changed to a pink pill, this change can cause confusion. In a senior living community, your parent can get assistance needed to protect against this safety risk.
Seniors living alone tend to ignore or put off proper medical care.
When living alone, it’s easy to ignore medical symptoms until they turn into serious conditions. At a senior living community, healthcare and other staff become part of your parent’s extended family. This means someone notices when you parent isn’t feeling well, and healthcare professional is there to quickly determine if a symptom is something that requires medical attention.
A great example is urinary tract infections, which cause pain and discomfort in young adults. It’s easy for younger people to recognize something is wrong. Among the elderly, it is easy to dismiss symptoms as part of the normal aging process. On-site healthcare team members are trained to watch for symptoms and diagnose problems before infections become larger problems.