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Finding housing for Mom and Dad is a big challenge, and it's an emotional journey as well.
The home that Mom or Dad might live in now might have been the home that you grew up in,
so the thought of moving your parent or having to move your parent because they need more care than can be provided in the home,
either because of cost or just the logistics of trying to find somebody to be with Mom or Dad,
again, working with a Geriatric Care Manager might be the best avenue for you to have a professional with "outside eyes"
evaluate Mom or Dad in the home, see how they have lived to see what they value,
because it’s very obvious sometimes by what's on the walls, what you see in the home, help me, as a professional, make a match
so that the person who is needing a new living environment has an environment that matches their long-term values
and what has been pleasing to them in the past.
In many areas throughout the United States, not just in the San Francisco Bay Area,
there are multiple levels of housing for seniors with a variety of different kinds of care.
Sometimes there are different levels of care,
and sometimes there are just small environments that are very conducive to peaceful, quiet, non-anxiety provoking living.
So each individual probably would be better matched with some facilities over other facilities, not that any facility is necessarily bad,
I'm guessing that there are some "bad" facilities out there, but my experience is most people and most entities that provide senior housing
want to do a great job and they really want the quality of life to be the best it can be no matter what the deficits are for that family member,
so working with a Care Manager we can narrow down the housing options
and help you look at just what is appropriate for Mom or Dad instead of getting a list
and going to 25 different complexes, and that more than half of those complexes wouldn't be appropriate for Mom and Dad
might have taken, you know, a week of your time, so working with a professional that really knows the nuances,
the culture of each environment,
what environments tolerate,
what they promote,
what the outside activities are at that complex; that really helps family narrow their choice, so coming to the decision to move,
then choosing where to move,
and then the third step of this journey would be the transition and I'll talk about that again in another moment with Linda.
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