Senior Living – What Amenities Are Available?

There are a lot of senior living options to consider when looking into senior housing.  When researching your options, you need to consider all of the different factors when choosing a senior living option.  The two top factors when choosing a senior home are usually cost and location; however, amenities play a close third.

Why are amenities so important?  Amenities help seniors adjust to their new homes and provide them with a greater quality of life.  Most senior living facilities offer amenities dependent on the center.  You will find many of the facilities have common amenities.

Read below to learn about the types of amenities that are provided in different senior living options.

Assisted Living

If you are looking into living in an assisted living facility, then you most likely need hands on help with certain daily tasks.  Other than these tasks, you are probably fairly independent.  Here is a common list of amenities you may find at an assisted living facility:

• Three meals a day served in the Dining Room
• Linen service and housekeeping
• Medication management
• Assistance with bathing, grooming, and dressing if needed
• Routine wellness checks by licensed staff
• Wide range of activities and social events to enrich one’s life
• Beauty and barber shop onsite
• Convenience store onsite

Retirement Community

Retirement communities may include condos, flats , or standalone homes .

Retirement neighborhood is constituted of seniors that want to continue being busy and search for amenities that support this lifestyle.  This is why people in retirement communities have unique amenities.  A number of the amenities mirror those you can find at upscale hotels.  Here is a common list of amenities you may find in a retirement community:

• Fitness center/group exercise
• Activity room
• Beauty salon
• Full Independent Kitchen
• Internet service
• Swimming Pool
• Security services

Nursing Home

People living in nursing homes normally require the most help out of all the senior living facilities. Residents are monitored 24 hours per day in nursing homes.  Lots of times, families send their loved ones to nursing homes because of all of the activities and amenities that are available onsite. This reduces the need to drive around for activities and amenities.  Here is a common list of amenities you may find in a nursing home:

• Licensed health care professionals around the clock
• Clubhouses
• Concerts and other entertainment
• Formal living and entertaining rooms
• Games and billiards rooms
• Kitchens
• Outings
• Transportation
• A salon/barber onsite
• Media rooms
• Lecture hall
• Libraries
• Chapels
• Spas
• Beauty Salons
• Medical Facilities
• Physical Therapy
• Therapy Pools
• Laundry service

One Last Note

As you can see the amenities in different types of senior living options varies quite a bit.  It varies by the type of senior living you are looking into and also by the cost of living in the facility.  Pricier senior living facilities will of course offer better and more amenities then cheaper ones.

You should first decide what type of senior living facility is right for your loved one.  Then you should determine your budget.  After completing those steps, you should make a list of all the amenities you would want your loved one to have in a senior living facility.