Moving into assisted living doesn't mean giving up your independence

For too many people, the words "assisted living" conjure up images of hospital beds and 24-hour nurses along with an inevitable loss of personal freedom and independence.

Yet, the truth is, for today's older adults, the lifestyle they enjoy at a modern assisted-living community actually has much more in common with an "independent living" community than it does a skilled nursing facility.

Today's assisted-living communities are dedicated to maximizing their residents' level of personal freedom by providing them with just the amount of care they need to go about their daily activities. In some cases, this might be as simple as monitoring their daily medication, or providing assistance with daily tasks like dressing and bathing when mobility becomes an issue. In most cases, this added assistance actually helps to increase the residents' ability to continue with their daily activities and freedom by providing them with that little extra help they need to get on with their daily lives.

In more sophisticated senior living communities, like a "continuing care retirement community" or a "life plan community," such as The Moorings of Arlington Heights - independent living and assisted living are offered on the same campus. In these communities, transitioning from independent living to assisted living is even more seamless and less intrusive on the resident's daily lifestyle. In assisted living they are still located on the same campus as their friends in independent living. They can still pursue many of the same activities and interests that they did before. And more importantly, they can still play an active part in the daily life of their community.

For today's assisted living residents, life isn't about having to settle for less, it's about getting access to the assistance and resources you need to live your life to the fullest. This can include everything from a full range of healthcare services, including an interdisciplinary team of doctors, social workers and staff, to 24-hour security and on-site nurses and staff. You get just the right amount of care so both you, and your family can be reassured that you'll be able to go about your daily life with security and confidence.

Providing that sense of reassurance for both the resident and his or her family is an important part of the care that assisted living provides. Knowing that their loved one is being checked on regularly by caring, capable professionals provides family members with a comforting peace of mind as well.

Assisted living options available today offer older adults and their families a lot more options than they did even five or 10 years ago. The modern, state-of-the-art accommodations seem more like attractive condos than hospital rooms. The facilities and services they offer are on par with many popular boutique hotels and they offer assisted-living residents more freedom and more independence than ever before.

So if sudden health changes have you looking into the assisted living options for yourself or a family member, chances are you're going to be rather pleasantly surprised by choices available.

This story is sponsored by The Highlands at The Moorings of Arlington Heights, which is adding 70 new assisted-living apartments to their campus in Arlington Heights.

These apartment homes will be available for occupancy in February 2018. To learn more, call (847) 956-4040 or visit online at themooringsofarlingtonheights.org/assisted-living.html.