When Jewish seniors begin to consider their future care plans, they are often torn between remaining in the home that they love and are familiar with and moving to an assisted living community where they can receive care and support while enjoying an independent lifestyle and still feel part of the Jewish community.
The answer may not be the same for everyone, it’s clear that it’s not always a cut-and-dried problem. In fact, it can be downright difficult to decide, especially during the pandemic.
Mike Silverman, CEO of Heritage Pointe, says that many wait to move to an assisted living community until they absolutely need to.
“While it’s nice that this is an option, it’s often not soon enough to enjoy everything that a senior living community has to offer,” he states. “Residents at Heritage Pointe often wonder why they didn’t make the move sooner, and it’s easy to see why thanks to our lifestyle. But for those considering whether or not to make the move, it often requires more research and comparison.”
When it comes to choosing whether to remain at home or enjoy a community lifestyle, it’s important to decide with both your current health and future care needs in mind. Try to plan ahead as much as possible, consider the costs associated with each option and evaluate how you’d like to see yourself in the future.
Consider some of the following differences in lifestyles.
A Difference in Lifestyle
At a Jewish senior living community such as Heritage Pointe, seniors are able to live as independently as possible with assistance available if and when it’s needed. Those who remain at home may be able to live independently for a time; however, as care needs change, it may become harder to be independent, do the things they love and remain at home.
This cannot only cause many more headaches down the road, but it can also make it less likely that they can enjoy the engaging and vibrant assisted living lifestyle. Keeping kosher is super easy, and attending religious services is as easy as a casual walk or watching it live on the in-house closed-circuit TV channel.
Future Care May Look Different
Care and support are available right on site in assisted living communities, whereas at home someone is paid to come in during set hours. This can be costly as care needs increase, while those in assisted living communities can enjoy the high-quality care of a specially trained team whether they need assisted living or even memory care later on.
As seniors age and potentially need some types of memory support, they may be required to move to a senior living community to ensure a safe, enriching lifestyle. Moving later on can be even more difficult, emotional, stressful and costly, whereas at an assisted living community, it’s a natural transition within the Jewish community you know and love.
Costs Can Vary Greatly
One of the reasons many seniors wait to make a move is because of initial costs. While it’s true that moving to assisted living can seem costly, it’s often only slightly higher than the costs of remaining at home—and is sometimes even lower!
Add up the cost of your mortgage or rent, home insurance, utilities, groceries, your car, car insurance, entertainment, costs of maintenance and upkeep and any other expenses that you may have. Then factor in the costs of care. Totaling this up and comparing the costs to living in an assisted living community may surprise you.
Socialization May Become Easier or More Difficult
As health needs and abilities change, it may be harder to enjoy social opportunities, spend time with family or visit friends. Because of the pandemic, you cannot have visitors or friends over and this may leave you depressed and even isolated. At Heritage Pointe, there is always an array of programs and activities to enjoy with multiple people to enjoy them with.
Your Lifestyle May or May Not Be as Worry-Free as You Hoped
When the unexpected happens and you live alone, you need to rely on others to help out. From grocery shopping to picking up prescriptions, it’s not fun to coordinate times with loved ones to get what you need when you need it. At Heritage Pointe, that’s simply not a problem.
Everything is taken care of for you. Enjoy delicious kosher meals cooked for you and have your prescriptions delivered to you. Assisted living helps seniors to remain worry-free and have peace of mind knowing that they have access to everything they need and more.
Your Friends and Family May or
May Not Have Better Peace of Mind
When you decide to keep living alone, your friends and family may understand your decision, but it may cause them to worry, be nervous for your health and wellness and become concerned that you may not be living the lifestyle you truly deserve.
Assisted living communities can help friends and family feel as though you are safe, your needs are being cared for and that you are engaged and connected. In fact, many family members share that the comfort and peace of mind that they have knowing their loved one is living in an assisted living community is priceless and that it gives them time with their loved one back as they are no longer serving as a caregiver.
Rooted in Jewish Tradition
Founded more than 30 years ago, Heritage Pointe provides the highest quality assisted living and memory care services to seniors in Orange County. Welcoming to those of all faiths, Heritage Pointe is Orange County’s only community rooted in Jewish culture, tradition and values.
For those who need some level of support to live their best lives, Heritage Pointe inspires independence and wellness through an extraordinary lifestyle, high-quality care, and rich traditions. It’s a trusted, joyful community offering a lifestyle filled with possibilities, wherever a resident may be on their senior living journey.
Our one-of-a-kind, nonprofit community is open to people of all backgrounds and faiths. Our mission is focused on our Residents and their independence, health, safety, comfort and happiness. Heritage Pointe has deep roots in this community and is committed to providing Residents the best possible lifestyle and care both now and into the future. For more information please visit www.heritagepointe.org.