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Find care details, insights, and insider perspectives gained from 20+ years of helping seniors and families.
What to know about this topic:
- What you get in assisted living in a retirement home
- When families should consider assisted living
- Tips, tools, and resources from Comfort Life
Assisted living in senior care communities in Victoria and area offers a new start and targeted care. When people reach a certain point at which they are no longer taking the best care of themselves – or they have suffered a health care crisis like a bad fall – the move into one of the Greater Victoria retirement communities offers benefits for all concerned. Find the city's best assisted living retirement homes below.:
IN-DEPTH REPORTSAssisted living in Victoria
Berwick House
4062 Shelbourne Street, Victoria,
British Columbia, V8N 3E6
Berwick House offers comfort, security and our usual high standard of affordable luxury. Steps away from a mall, cinema and other conveniences, you’ll find everything you need for an independent and active lifestyle.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Long-term care
Berwick Royal Oak
4680 Elk Lake Drive, Victoria,
British Columbia, V8Z 0B4
Luxurious, Resort-Style Retirement Living where you can age in place; You’re Home at Last at Berwick Royal Oak on Vancouver Island in beautiful Victoria, BC.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Long-term care
What you get in assisted living in a retirement home
Senior assisted living communities provide aspects of personal care including the following:
- Help with showering, bathing or changing clothes. Personal care can be a daily chore for seniors. If someone is unable to sustain the energy needed to take care of these personal issues, the move into an assisted living facility in the city can be apropos.
- Help with walking or "transferring." When the body has been weakened by age or a health problem, people have greater difficulty with movement. A rollator or scooter can be a relief, but if there is a risk of falling, then more dedicated personal care is needed.
- Assistance with chores like cooking, feeding or taking medicine. Neglect of certain basic personal tasks is a sign that assistance is required. If these tasks are trouble for someone, then the move into an environment where personal service workers are always available may be appropriate.
Take a fuller look at the question, "What is assisted living?" including details about ADLs.
When families should consider assisted living
People move into assisted living under a variety of circumstances. Several cases are typical:
A health care crisis. If someone suffers an untreated stroke, they will need extended personal care, either in the home or through a move into assisted living facilities like those listed above. There are many other health care issues that can result in the need for a move into one of these communities, of course. Other examples are exacerbated problems related to diabetes or a heart attack, sundowning, etc.
Personal choice based on desire for care, safety or a social environment. Seniors choose to move into assisted living when they are tired of living alone and they want to give over personal care such as cooking etc. They may choose to move into independent living but if they have need for help with tasks of daily living, a Victoria assisted living community may be the right choice.
A fall, either in the home or out of it. When a senior falls and injures him or herself, this is often found to be an indication that dedicated assistance is needed. If a senior is living alone and they have a bad fall, this can be tragic.
Reduced concern for personal hygiene or other personal care. If a senior is not taking care of him or herself and family notices this for any reason, they should start looking at the option of finding assisted living facilities in Victoria and area. Signs of the need for this change can be anything from the development of sores on the body to increased clutter and unkemptness in the home.
Family caregiving has reached a tipping point. Families can sustain personal caregiving for elderly loved ones only for so long. As time goes on and the senior family member's health worsens, family may decide that they have reached "the breaking point." Obstacles that slow this shift are the cost and/or resistance to a move, from the elderly loved one or even from family.
However, you need to think about what is best for an elderly loved one. Many times, people have not even looked at a retirement home. The initial step of getting out and looking at what today's retirement communities have to offer can be very eye-opening. Additional steps, such as committing to a trial stay can also be a tipping point, where seniors with some initial resistance come to realize that a retirement home can be much better – in all respects, in fact.
Tips, tools, and resources from Comfort Life
- Learn much more in our comprehensive guide to assisted living in BC
- When touring assisted living communities, use our Retirement Tour Checklist, full of all the right questions to ask retirement homes in Victoria.
