Making the move to a senior living community is always a major life change. When a couple can move together, this decision and the transition itself can become a little easier. When seniors experience changes in mobility, strength, and health, moving to an assisted living community may be the right choice.
Can Couples Live Together in an Assisted Living Community?
Many families face this problem and are unaware that many senior living communities can accommodate couples together. Remarriage, increased life expectancy, and a shrinking age gap between women and men mean more families are looking for senior living that supports both parents’ needs. Typically, more single individuals live in assisted living communities than couples, however, an assisted living community can be the perfect solution to make each person happy, healthy, and safe—especially when one spouse may no longer be able to continue to care appropriately for the other.
What if the Couple has Different Levels of Needs?
Assisted living communities allow senior couples to make the move together, even when one partner has greater care needs than the other. Finding appropriate care for a senior couple with differing needs is largely a balancing act.
Caring for an elderly person in their senior years can be exceedingly stressful for the caregiver. The spouse may physically and mentally struggle with the task, along with maintaining a household, shopping for groceries, cooking meals, managing medication, and helping their spouse dress and groom. Transferring them to a bathtub or wheelcahir can be physically exhausting and become dangerous if one spouse has limited mobility. Eventually, the caregiver’s health will often decline due to the additional strain of caring for their spouse. They may suffer depression, issues with their health, loss of sleep, and negative diet changes.
An assisted living community is the perfect situation for a married couple where the caregiver spouse is overwhelmed. Each resident will have their own personal care plan to meet each individual’s needs. They can live in the same apartment and maintain their lives together, but each will get the assistance specifically needed for them. In addition, they can participate in activities together or on their own.
If the time comes when one spouse requires more care than an assisted living facility can provide, then the couple has a few different options. At Nazareth Care we can accommodate independent, assisted living, frail care and memory care all on one estate. In the event that one spouse has dementia or Alzheimer’s, they can live in the same community but apart to better accommodate each of them. One spouse can live in assisted living while the other resides in the The Villa, our specialised dementia care facility. This arrangement allows them to be with each other while still getting their specific needs met. It often comes down to a prioritization of wants and needs between the two individuals.
Couples are Happier Together.
The advantage of staying in a long-term relationship has many benefits and can improve a person’s quality of life. If a couple can move into an assisted living community together, it can improve physical and mental well-being and minimize the risk of confusion, anxiety, or depression after the move. By moving in together it can help the couple to maintain a level of health and happiness overall.
At Nazareth House Cape Town, the Larmenier Care centre offers a great opportunity for senior couples to live together as safely and independently as possible. Here we offer a range of services to meet the physical, medical, and emotional needs of both seniors. We suggest early planning and visiting us to see the services on offer and the layout of our units.
Nestled in the heart of Vredehoek, this newly refurbished property, offers our residents a premium level of care catering for all their needs in a homely environment. The property is large and spacious with tranquil gardens and panoramic views of Table Mountain and the city. Residents can feel secure within the premises which features CCTV, gated access, and security on site 24/7.
Our caregivers provide a range of support to our residents including but not limited to, social events and activities. We respect our residents’ private routines and personal preferences. Couples have the comfort of continuing their companionship and routines that they are used to, with the added security and assistance should it be needed. Personal preferences are respected and supported.
At Larmenier Care Centre, we can provide additional care support if illness happens and help the couple or individual with extra support to regain strength and ability. We also offer other care facilities and can assist with transition should a different level of care be needed, all on the same estate.
To learn more about our service offerings at Nazareth House Cape Town, Larmenier Care Center, please click here or contact our Facilities Manager, Lizl Konig on 021 461 1635.
