Category: Long-Term Care

Aggression in Men with Alzheimer’s Disease

close detailed view of half a older mans face

We know women outlive men for a variety of reasons. But if you visit a memory care program in an assisted living community, you will likely notice men make up what seems to be a disproportionate amount of the resident population. A new study on Alzheimer’s and men sheds light on why. Looking at three years of… Read more »

Moving Your Parent to Long-Term Care

daughter looking at mom smiling

Is your senior parent moving to a long-term care community soon? Here are some tips to make the process go as smoothly as possible for both you and your parent. If your parent is moving from home… Moving from home to a long-term care community (also known as a skilled nursing facility) often involves a… Read more »

Managing Costs of Skilled Nursing

piggy bank and a stethoscope

Your patient requires skilled nursing care, but the family has no resources and is unsure how to cover the costs for it. What can you tell them? Medicare Coverage of Skilled Nursing Care Your patient must meet the following criteria before Medicare will cover their care in a skilled nursing facility: They have Part A Medicare with… Read more »

A Day in the Life at an Optalis Community

nurse and patient looking at each other

Long-term care is becoming an increasingly common need for older adults. In fact, it’s estimated that about half (52%) of Americans 65 or above will need some type of long-term care service in the future. However, those are just numbers. Your parent isn’t a number. Your loved one isn’t a statistic. If they end up in the… Read more »

Visiting My Loved One in Long-Term Care

family smiling and laughing at each other

Many adult children with parents in a long-term care community worry that they aren’t visiting enough. It can be difficult to juggle all of your responsibilities: a career, friends, children of your own, community commitments, and more. We understand that you want to give your loved one as much attention as you can while they’re… Read more »

Staying Active and Engaged in Long-Term Care

residents playing cards at a table

Dear Beth, My mom is currently living at an assisted living community in the Columbus, Ohio area. However, her health has deteriorated in the past few months and the community has told us that she will need to go to a long-term care community to receive the proper level of care. The community she’s at… Read more »

Sharing a Room in Long-Term Care: A Resident’s Perspective

seniors playing a game

Meet Craig, a veteran long-term care resident and community staple of our Monterey location. When visiting, you can often find Craig tending to the plants and animals in the courtyard, exercising his passion for gardening. He sat down for a visit and shared his many experiences as a long-term care resident, plus what you can… Read more »

Transitioning from Assisted Living to Long-Term Care

doctor writing on a document on a clipboard

There’s a lot of talk about how to handle transitioning your loved one from home to assisted living—but what about from assisted living to long-term care? After all, it’s a fairly common transition that many seniors eventually face. As Paula Span writes in an article on assisted living for the New York Times, “however suitable assisted living… Read more »

How Long-Term Care Can Help with Physical Fitness

residents sitting in chairs clapping

Exercise is vital at all ages. However, for seniors, it often comes with unique challenges. Those challenges can stand in the way of seniors maintaining a healthy level of physical fitness. But there is help available. Long-term care communities are designed to make it easy for seniors to safely engage in physical activities—here’s how. Fitness… Read more »