What You Need To Know About Moving Into Assisted Living Facilities In Maine

By Kendra Hood


Assisted living is now a popular housing option for seniors who want to reside in facilities that offer minor medical care and monitoring. Assisted living facilities in Maine are regulated by the state and they offer a wide variety of services to their residents. They provide people with mild health problems a unique environment to reside in. The other names used to refer to these communities are congregate care communities, adult foster homes, residential care and adult care homes among other names.

Adult foster homes are of different sizes. Some are small residential homes while others are large facilities that cater for needs of hundreds of residents. In large communities, residents have private apartments. Residential care communities do not have the specialized medical equipment available in nursing homes but they employ qualified staff to help residents perform various tasks. These staff members are available at any time of the day or night.

Congregate care homes usually charge monthly fees which cater for the room and services offered. Some of the services offered at these homes include laundry, bathing assistance, medication management, escorts to activities, meals and insulin injection by a registered nurse. Some communities have on site beauty parlors and various kinds of amenities. They usually have common areas for socializing, a central kitchen and dining area.

Most of the residents of residential care homes are senior citizens who have minor health problems caused by aging, disease or injury. Most of them need help with performing activities of daily living like eating, getting dressed, walking and bathing among others. Some of them also have problems with their mental health. These facilities offer them the comfort and medical care they need to live dignified lives.

Some adult care homes also serve younger individuals such as those who have impaired cognitive function. Most people move into these communities with the intent of residing in them on a long term basis. However, assisted living communities also provide residents with short term care.

People who have undergone medical procedures that affect their ability to be independent can also move to a residential care home. A doctor may request his or her patient to move to such a facility to receive care before he or she recovers. The patient then returns to his or her private residence after getting well.

It is normal to feel anxious about moving to an adult foster home since this will affect your lifestyle. You may worry about losing your freedom, fear that your relatives may not visit you often or fear that you may find it difficult to reside in such a facility. However, if you prepare yourself mentally in advance, this transition will be easy.

Another thing to you can do to ease the process of moving to an adult care home is to familiarize yourself with the facility you want to move to. Get adequate information about it such as how the members of staff treat residents before you move. After you adapt to your new lifestyle, your anxiety, fear or worries will end.




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