How To Make The Most Out Of A Senior Living Facility Tour

Residents enjoy the privacy of personal living spaces, engaging activities, and the assistance of a trained caregiver available at all times. We provide freedom within a safe community where neighbors become friends. Residents enjoy the privacy of personal living spaces, engaging activities, and the assistance of a trained caregiver available at all times. We provide freedom within a safe community where neighbors become friends.

When looking for a long-term care facility for you or a loved one, the decision and preparation process may be a highly stressful time during which details about different facilities and amenities can easily blur together. In the moment, you’re touring a facility you may forget to ask crucial questions or to see other areas, leading to making an under-informed decision that has a large effect on you and your family.

We’re here to help you stay organized and clear-headed so you can make the most out of your next trip to a senior living facility.

Questions to Ask Your Guide

You probably already have a good idea of what questions to ask during a visit, but it doesn’t hurt to see other thoughts that could spark an idea for others to ask. Things we recommend you ask during a visit include what safety and security features are available both in the room and throughout the facility. Things like:

• Grab bars and railings
• Staffing patterns day and night
• Types of staff, including security and nursing
• Medication storage and administration

And although it’s likely the last thing on your mind during a tour, ask about move-out criteria and the process for that. Would the community ever ask a resident to leave? What circumstances would warrant this decision? There also may be restrictions or fines in place for people who don’t give a certain-day notice for moving out.

What You’ll Learn By Talking to Current Residents

There may be nothing more valuable than hearing about the personal experiences of people who currently live in the community you’re looking at. When walking around, you may run into other residents, many of whom are more than happy to spend a few minutes chatting with you about things like:

• How long they’ve lived there
• How much they enjoy living there
• What they do during the day
• How staff treats them
• What special activities they’ve been offered recently
• Whether they feel like it’s worth the cost

Although people can have abnormal experiences, talking with a few people during your visit can give you a cross-section of the lived experience of being in this particular facility.

Trust Your Own Experience

As with touring colleges, apartments, and houses, sometimes you just know when one is or isn’t right for you. Use your senses to analyze if the facility is clean, whether staff and residents are put together and seem to have good personal hygiene, and what green space there is, and how it’s kept up. It’s also a good idea to eat a meal there, with the person (people) who will be moving in ideally. Food preference is a hot-button issue among many people looking for senior living facilities, so you don’t want to leave it up to the advertising when evaluating which facility has the best food.

Finally, try to interact with many different staff members. Do they seem personable and friendly? Are they competent? Is the staff-to-resident ratio reasonable? All these factors will influence the daily life of you or your loved one, so they’re important to find out.

Senior Living Facility in West Michigan

These are just a few tips on how to make the most of your senior living facility tour. For more information on how we can help you have an informative and pleasant visit, don’t hesitate to call our office today. Our friendly staff members can help you ask the right questions to know if Care Cardinal is right for you or your loved one. Reach out to us by calling or contacting us online today!