What Are Common Challenges Senior Couples Face in Assisted Living Apartments and How To Overcome Them?
After spending decades together, the only thing senior couples wish for is to live together with the person they have shared their whole life with. However, when they move together to assisted living apartments, they get overwhelmed with some challenges that can make or break their golden years.
In this post, we’ll discuss four common challenges that you can face as a couple living in an assisted living apartment and how you can overcome them. So, read along!
4 Common Challenges Seniors Couple Face in Assisted Living Apartments and How to Overcome Them
1. Living Away from Family and Friends
After spending decades in one home, one neighborhood, it’s often emotionally challenging for seniors to move away from all those memories and people to a new place where they don’t know anyone. But more importantly, what hits the hardest to most older adults is having to live away from their families.
Even when you move to an assisted living community with your spouse, you may often miss seeing your children. While these emotions are natural, the best way to overcome this emotional challenge of moving away from your family is by having them meet you regularly. Living in an assisted care apartment with your spouse is like living in your traditional home, but with a smaller space and additional amenities and services.
However, some senior couples usually struggle at the beginning of their move. But with time, they get used to living in assisted care communities, where they make new friends who provide the emotional support they need.
2. Varying Care Needs
One of the common concerns for senior couples in assisted living communities is when their health conditions differ from those of their partners. For example, suppose your spouse has a certain chronic health condition, such as heart disease, diabetes, or respiratory illnesses, while you have another. In that case, you both will struggle to come up with a common routine that suits both your needs and your partner’s needs.
Assisted care communities offer well-trained staff and licensed professionals who take care of every resident and their needs. Sharing an assisted living apartment with your spouse is a dream for many senior couples who are on different care levels. So even if it’s a huge emotional and mental challenge, you can work with staff members to come up with a routine that suits everyone.
3. Mobility Issues
Many older adults in assisted living have limited mobility, which restricts them from performing many daily living activities. While those needs are taken care of by assisted living staff, senior couples, when alone in their apartments, can struggle to navigate their space due to mobility issues. As a result, they may struggle to maintain their independence in their private apartments.
The best way to overcome this challenge is by removing excessive furniture and items that may come in your way when you walk around. Apart from that, you don’t have to worry. Assisted care communities provide apartments with simple designs that support seniors with mobility issues.
4. Having to Live Separately, in the Same Building
One of the biggest challenges for senior couples is having to live separately even after moving to the same community. It only happens in the case where one partner develops a disease, such as dementia, that requires a higher level of care. Many senior living communities offer more than one care level, i.e., assisted living and memory care, in the same community but different designated areas and buildings.
If you’re living with your partner in an assisted living apartment, but over the years they develop a memory-related issue like Alzheimer’s or dementia, they’ll have to be moved to memory care that will better cater to their needs. While it’s understandably one of the difficult situations to be in, the best way out is to accept it and be there for your spouse. You can still meet them every day during the day and hang out with them.
Want to Spend Your Retirement Years With Your Partner in Safety and Comfort? Choose Bristol Park at Cleburne Assisted Living & Memory Care
All in all, senior couples face some challenges in assisted living communities. But overcoming these challenges with your partner in life is so worth it. If you want to spend your golden years together with your partner in a safe and comfortable space, consider moving to Bristol Park at Cleburne Assisted Living & Memory Care.
Here at Bristol Park at Cleburne, we offer safe and comfortable single and double-room apartments that come with a built-in kitchenette. You won’t have to worry about the maintenance of your apartment as our staff members take care of all those household responsibilities, including weekly housekeeping.
If it sounds exciting, consider scheduling a tour of Bristol Park at Cleburne to meet our staff and learn more about our offerings.
