How to Choose the Best Retirement Home for Mom & Dad: A Guide

Mother’s and Father’s Days have come and gone. Now that you have spent your obligatory time with your parents, you may be thinking that they’re getting on in years, and their health isn’t that great. They live alone and they’re having a hard time living their lives without any help.

Since they’re now in their sixties or seventies, perhaps a retirement home should be considered.

Retirement homes have transformed over the years. They are modern, clean, vibrant and secure. Although many of us grew up watching “The Simpsons” and have this notion that all retirement homes are the same as what Grandpa Simpson lived in, assisted-living communities are not that whatsoever. It is quite the opposite: friendly staff members, good food and happy tenants.

It is becoming easier for families to help their mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles transition into a retirement community, whether it is related to cost or making adaptation better.

Here are five tips for choosing the best retirement home for your mom or dad:

👪 Cleanliness is the No. 1 Factor to Consider

Older people tend to have weaker immune systems and are more susceptible to bacteria, germs and unsanitary conditions. You have to keep this in mind as you observe the facilities of the retirement home. In other words, cleanliness is the most important factor to consider.

Are all of the tables regularly cleaned for service? Are the floors well maintained? Are the suites well taken care of? Are the washrooms always well sanitized? These are questions to ask.

👪 Stay for a Meal or Two with Your Parent

Since senior residents will have their diets taken care of by the retirement home, you must ensure that the food is good – breakfast, lunch or dinner. With recent reports coming out of Ontario that government-funded retirement homes spend less on their foods than the prison system, you want to make sure that your parents are eating rather well and not relying on canned fruit to get by.

Upon your visit, it would be wise to stay for a meal or two – and to return on a couple of visits.

👪 Present Security & Safety Questions

You won’t be with your aging relatives when they’re in a retirement home. Therefore, you need to confirm if the premises are safe and secure. You can speak with the manager or security personnel to find out what the protocols are, what security systems are place and other factors.

👪 Observe the Attitude of Clerks

Let’s face it: for the next several years, total strangers will be looking after your family members. You don’t know who these people are, and you have read some horrendous stories before.

When you’re visiting the retirement home, it would be prudent to observe the attitude of the clerks. You need to determine what they’re like, how they treat other residents, how long they’ve been in the field and other considerations.

Perhaps you should talk to some of the staff members, too.

👪 Make a Plan on How to Make the Move

Now that you have chosen the best retirement home on your list, you need to sit down with the management and come up with a plan to transition from your mother’s house to the retirement home. This helps, and since it will be hard for your aging parent, they can come up with a list of suggestions and tips to make the move as simple as possible without heartache and difficulties.

Decluttering, organization and tossing out junk are all steps you will need to take.

Retirement homes are attractive establishments. Whenever you walk by a private retirement community, the exterior is well maintained, the interiors are clean, the personnel are friendly and the suites are more modern than your parents’ living room décor from the 1970s.Prior to making a visit to the retirement home, you have to get rid of any preconceived notions. An open mind is crucial. At the same time, you will need to tap into your sleuth-like abilities to confirm that your parents are paid attention to, well taken care of and, most important of all, happy.Once you do this, you know you will have made the right choice.