Two Reasons Why Elderly People Decide To Move Into Aged Care Facilities

Here are two common reasons why elderly people decide to move into aged care facilities.

They have become isolated and want to live in a more social environment

As people get older, they can become isolated and lonely. This can happen because they can no longer drive or are less physically mobile, and so cannot travel to social gatherings. Elderly people experiencing this issue will often decide to move into aged care facilities. The reason for this is that although, in a typical assisted living facility, each resident will have their own private room, they will be living in large buildings with many other elderly people, as well as lots of staff members. As such, a person living in this environment will have easy access to other people and plenty of opportunities to socialise, as and when they feel like doing so.

Furthermore, aged care facilities usually have a weekly schedule of social events that the residents can attend. These may include dance or aerobics classes, arts and crafts classes, as well as board game sessions and movie nights. All of these activities can give the residents the chance to interact with others whilst doing fun, engaging activities. Having access to these social events on a regular basis can help elderly people to form friendships that can stave off their loneliness and make their twilight years happier and more fulfilling.

They need access to comprehensive support and care

A second reason why elderly people make the decision to move into these facilities is that they require access to comprehensive support and care. A typical aged care facility will have staff, including nurses, on-site 24 hours a day. These staff members can help the elderly residents to manage their healthcare. They can, for instance, assist residents with taking their medications, help them to monitor any medical conditions they have and support them when they need to organise doctor's appointments or hospital visits.

The staff at these facilities can also help the residents with their daily activities, which they might struggle to carry out by themselves. For example, elderly people often have mobility issues or conditions like arthritis that might make getting dressed, cooking meals, cleaning and doing laundry quite difficult. The staff at an aged-care facility can either help elderly residents with these tasks or even do some of these chores for them. This can make the daily life of an elderly person more comfortable and less tiring.

To learn more about aged care, contact a local facility.