 | Shelly Lunsford is the facility director at The Homestead Assisted Living Residence in Wichita. She lives in Medicine Lodge and received her nursing degree from Pratt Community College. She spent five years working at Wesley Medical Center in the cardiac field prior to taking a leap of faith and jumping into the long term care of assisted living. From the moment she entered the doors at The Homestead, Shelly knew that it was the place for her. From a nursing point of view, this type of position allows her to utilize all her nursing skills, assessing not only the physical, but the mental, emotional and spiritual needs as well. The greatest reward for Shelly is to feel the love and compassion generated between residents and staff. It truly is a home-like atmosphere filled with family. Shelly can be reached at (316) 729-2400 or you may visit the facility at 12221 W. Maple, in Wichita. |
Senior Living
2007-12-01 10:04:00
What is ‘Aging in Place’?
We make all of our decisions based on assessments. After each assessment, it is then determined whether or not the resident can stay.
However, there are a few points that I would like to stress. All assisted livings are not created equal. Each assisted living has their own set of guidelines by which they assess. For instance, in one facility a resident may be refused because they are an elopement (runaway) risk.
A different facility may welcome that resident and have a care plan in place to keep them safe, which would typically include a locked down facility and possibly an alert band.
Another point to keep in mind is that the idea of “assisted livings” can bring to mind different meanings to many people, even to the professional medical field.
Assisted livings have changed over the past few years, with more and more assisted livings taking on heavier resident care load than in the past. One must also bear in mind that assisted livings offer physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, home health and hospice.
Aging in Place is a concept that is becoming more popular with assisted livings. This simply means, “growing older without having to move.”
The main focus is to not have to move from place to place and being familiar with the surroundings and other residents, allowing the individual to “age in place”. This allows residents to produce more favorable outcomes and also reduces relocation stress syndrome.
The best solution for your brother would have been a “team” assessment between the assisted living director and nurse, the physician and care coordinator of the hospital. Only then would you know if the assisted living could have met his needs.
