3 Ways to Encourage Dad to become more Involved at His Assisted Living Community

July 30, 2015 by ·

Assisted Living in Chickasaw AL

When your father first moved into the assisted living facility, you might’ve had high hopes for him. Since your mother passed away, you noticed a pattern in which he withdrew from friends, Assisted Living in Chickasaw ALavoided doing certain activities, and basically sat around all day watching TV, reading books, doing puzzles, or doing other basic activities.  You encouraged him to at least consider the prospect of assisted living and, after lengthy discussions about it with him, he finally agreed this might very well be a good opportunity for him.

When he moved in you might’ve checked on him every day for the first week or two. Maybe you stopped by or called to see if he was enjoying himself, comfortable, or needed anything. He may have made you believe everything was fine, but after a while you began to realize he was not getting himself involved in the community at all. He spent most of his time locked away in his room, just like he had been at his old house.

Here are three things you might consider trying to help encourage him to get more involved in assisted living.

1. Ask him to show you around one day.

He might not know his way around the assisted living facility very well. As a result, he may not realize all of the different rooms and activities that are available for him. If you ask him to give you a personal tour, as long as the facility allows that, you can begin asking questions and maybe piquing some interest within him.

2. Find out exactly what activities are available at the facility.

You probably know your father quite well and understand his interests. There may be certain arts and crafts activities that he’s certainly not interested in and if he believes that’s all that’s available, he may not look into anything more. If you speak to an administrator and find out all of the different activities they provide for seniors, there may be something that could be of interest to him that he doesn’t realize just yet.

3. Enlist the help of friends.

Your father may have friends who live at the same facility as him and they may not realize he’s having a difficult time getting engaged in the community. If they have high regard for this particular assisted living community, they may certainly be able to encourage him to get out and get involved.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Assisted Living near Chickasaw, AL, contact Ashbury Manor Specialty Care and Assisted Living at 251-317-3017.

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About Cindy Johnson

Ashbury Manor’s Administrator since 2008, Cindy Johnson is a long-time expert in the assisted living field. Prior to her arrival at Ashbury Manor, Cindy managed acquisitions and crisis management for existing and new larger senior care project developments for eleven years. As regional manager for an Oregon-based assisted living management company, Cindy was directly responsible for operations for five 50-65 bed assisted living facilities. As manager during the transition to new ownership, Cindy reorganized internal operations and conducted leadership training for Executive Directors. As a result of her management and expertise, one of the company’s facilities (in Ocala, Florida) received a deficiency-free survey, resulting in the lifting of a moratorium on operation.

A nurse for 36 years, senior care has always been Cindy’s passion. Desiring to work more closely with residents, Cindy became a Category II Administrator in 2005. As Ashbury Manor’s Administrator, Cindy understands the complexities associated with dementia and cognitive impairment and she has fallen in love with seniors with dementia or cognitive impairment and their families.

Cindy is Treasurer of the local “Senior Coalition” chapter. She enjoys mentoring new candidates who want to become administrators.

As a 16-bed facility, with Cindy's training and experience, our residents and their families can be sure Ashbury Manor’s carefully selected staff provides the expertise of a larger facility while maintaining the individualized personal care of a small special needs home.
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