Case studies
Holiday Gifts for Seniors
up in my house taking up space or will be donated to Goodwill all too soon. Home Instead Senior Care has a very good list of things seniors will truly appreciate for gifts. I’ve also added some ideas and elaborated on some. Continue reading
Couple Sell Condo, Move to Independent Living
Mr. and Mrs. R are a lovely couple with a close-knit family. The entire family was involved in the process of helping them decide to move from their 3-story condo to an independent living community.
Because they knew that Mr. R's Parkinson's would worsen over the years, they chose a community that also had assisted living on the same campus. They moved into a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in a wonderful senior living community that was recently remodeled. The apartment was large enough fit their furnishings nicely, and the activities offered appealed to both of them. After they moved in, they put their condo up for sale and thanks to the great housing market in the Portland area, the condo sold quickly. Continue reading
77 Year-Old with Dementia
Mr. N is a 77 year-old man with moderate to advanced dementia. His family contacted us, looking to move him from another city, to Portland to be closer to his family. Mr. N's wife had recently passed away and he was living in a city with no family members nearby...
We initially toured three communities together, some were stand-alone memory care communities, and others had assisted living and/or independent living on the same campus. All of them would meet Mr. N's needs, but his daughter felt most positive about the third community we visited. She went back with her sister to revisit that one, and they put down a deposit to hold the available room.
Continue reading
Independent Living for Younger Gentleman
Mr. P is a 58 year old disabled veteran. He was living in an apartment but didn't feel a sense of community there. Being a very social person, he felt confined to his apartment by his disability and having to get in and out of his wheelchair to go anywhere. The apartment complex was all ages, and while he enjoyed hearing the laughter of children at play, what Mr. P really wanted was to live with people closer to his own age. He's considered young by Independent Living standards, but he has always related well to people older than himself.
Mr. P contacted us to find out what was available in the Portland area that would suit him. His budget wasn't large, so that narrowed our search a bit, and we were glad he was willing to look in all areas of Portland and not limit himself to one particular neighborhood. After gathering pertinent information about him, we discussed three different Independent Living communities which would meet his needs, but in the end, Mr. P only wanted to go see one of them. He was driving, even with his limited mobility, so we decided to meet at the Independent Living community to take a tour. Continue reading
Adult Foster Care Home is New Home
An adult foster care home can be an ideal solution for an elderly family member. Mrs. R is a 93-year old woman who has lived in Beaverton, OR with her 70-year old son for several years. Her son "E" loves his mother and was a good caregiver for her, but at the same time he wanted to retire and be a snowbird part of the year. He was conflicted about what to do about his mother. She is a lovely woman who needs assistance showering and help in and out of a back brace in the morning and evening. She is also legally blind and needs help with medication administration. Her son felt uncomfortable helping his mother with her shower, so would ask his sister to come over and assist...
"E" contacted us and asked what would be good senior living options for his mother. We talked about assisted living and adult foster care. Mrs. R has a pleasant personality but is not very social around a lot of people, and since she can't see well she does not participate in card games, board games, and the like. She feels more comfortable in a small setting. For this reason, we ruled out assisted living and decided to concentrate on adult foster care homes in the Beaverton area. Continue reading
Couple from Out-of-State Moving to Assisted Living
Mr. and Mrs. J are in their mid-80’s. They lived in an independent living community in Arizona. Their adult children live in the Portland area and wanted their parents to live closer to them, since Mr. and Mrs. J had no family nearby in Arizona.
Mr. J was independent and very healthy, but Mrs. J was having quite a bit of unsteadiness on her feet, which caused a fall that resulted in a fracture. Because of the fracture, she was rehabilitating in a skilled nursing facility to get her up and walking again. Continue reading
87 Year-Old Female Downsizing to Independent Living
Mrs. F was an 87 year-old woman who recently lost her husband. They lived in a large condominium in Portland. Mrs. F realized that the condo was too large for her by herself, and she did not want to continue living there alone. She didn't want to deal with the maintenance, nor have to cook all her meals and clean her apartment. She wanted the social activities, meals, and housekeeping that come with an independent living community...
Mrs. F was referred to us by a mortgage broker who had worked with her several years previously, and they had remained good friends. We met with Mrs. F to determine what she was looking for in her new home. She had already made a list of exactly what she wanted: a studio or 1 bedroom apartment, ability to make her own breakfast, a Catholic church nearby, assisted living nearby or on the same campus, and a smaller community. She had a preference in mind of where in the Portland area she wanted to live, and she was working with a fairly tight budget. Continue reading
95 Year-Old with Alzheimer’s to Adult Foster Home
Mrs. M is a 95 year-old woman who was living in an independent living retirement community in Tigard, Oregon. She has Alzheimer’s disease and, other than occasional assistance from an in-home care agency, she was not taking care of her personal hygiene needs on a consistent basis. Because she was living in an independent living community, which does not employ caregiving staff, her medication was not being administered to her, and therefore she was taking it on an irregular basis. She was also becoming reclusive in her apartment and not participating in social activities or even mealtimes in the community dining room...
Mrs. M’s family lived close by and would assist her as much as possible, and take her to church on Sundays. However, her adult children are sons, and they felt uncomfortable with helping Mrs. M with her showering needs. As time progressed and it became clear that Mrs. M was having more and more difficulty in caring for herself, and also because of her reclusiveness, they contacted our agency for help in finding placement. Continue reading
From Tears to Smiles
Getting Personal Local Assistance to Find the Right Fit for Dad
Pauline called me almost in tears. She had searched online for an assisted living… Continue reading
Exit Seeking Leads to Emergency Move
Dorothy, 86, moved to Portland to be near her daughter. She had lived alone in her own home for the last 10 years since her husband passed but was in Eastern Washington and her daughter worried about her being so far away. Her daughter on her own found her a very nice apartment in an independent living community. Dorothy had a full kitchen so she could continue to cook for herself if she wanted but three meals a day were provided in the dining room. It was the perfect scenario for Dorothy to remain independent but have the support from the community and her daughter when needed...
What her daughter didn’t realize was Dorothy had severe memory impairment. Dorothy was able to have very nice conversations with her daughter on the phone and she was fine for short visits. The ability to mask memory impairment short term is common. Family often doesn’t realize how severe the issues are until something dangerous happens. Continue reading