As a society, we can be proud that we once created nursing homes so our elders had access to the care they needed. Yet, try as we might to provide quality care, many nursing homes have become a less than dignified alternative for most everyone who needs long term care. Our Communities’ design, coupled with our trained and qualified staff, can now care for many to most of those same seniors.

The LifeServices Assisted Living approach to caring for our residents is unique in that is multi-dimensional. We can confidently say that our approach to caregiving is nothing like society’s traditional nursing homes or assisted living facilities that are run on a “medical model.” We customize our care plans to correspond with the level of care you or your loved one seeks, as every resident is unique in his or her needs and preferences.

We Foster Independence

LifeServices strongly believes in that old adage, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Among older people admitted to nursing homes, why is the percentage of all wheelchair-dependent residents substantially lower than the percentage of all the facility’s patients that are wheelchair dependent who live there? One of the reasons can be that new patients who are slow at ambulating, or who are fall risks, are wheeled every place in the facility. It’s “easier and quicker” for staff than taking the time to provide “stand by assistance” to Mom while she walks to the Dining Room at mealtime . And, regrettably, it isn’t too long that new patients who aren’t walking, can’t walk well anymore. At a LifeServices Community, our trained caregivers assist our residents with “all they need”, but “only what they need.” Not because we don’t want to help. It’s because we want your loved one to maintain as much of their independence as possible -- for as long as possible. The medical world tells us that older people have “chronic medical problems” and they “don’t get better.” We disagree. Strongly. We’ve seen a lot of residents join our Community, enjoy well-balanced, home cooked meals, receive timely and proper assistance with their medications, drink water in addition to a diet of tea or coffee, and guess what? They do get better. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. And, their adult children that love them feel better, too.

We Recognize the Importance of Privacy

One of these major needs that we take great care to protect is privacy. At LifeServices Assisted Living Communities, we continuously engage with our residents to understand what they value most. When one takes the time to listen, older people are clear. All of us are private about our personal lives and older people are especially so. Privacy in one’s Apartment Home remains a fundamental value for our residents to make it feel “just like home.” The assistance our caregivers provide with daily needs like bathing, dressing and grooming, happens where it ought to happen: behind close doors, in the privacy of our resident’s Apartment Home. Furthermore, private discussions about you or your loved ones’ care needs don’t take place in the corridors and open areas like at facilities. Those discussions also happen behind closed doors and involve only those caregivers that truly need to know.

We Enhance Our Residents’ Dignity

All of us expect to be respected and treated with dignity. Older people are no different than the rest of us. Dignity is especially important to older people of advanced age because so many different caregivers are involved in their care process. All of us cringe in that doctor’s office when medical staff members talk openly about patient care needs. We cringe again when the clinician caring for our loved one talks to us in the exam room about our loved one’s medical care needs as if Mom isn’t even sitting in the room. That will not happen at a LifeServices Community. We know our residents value their dignity and we work hard to protect and nurture it. What will happen at a LifeServices Community?

Families tell us they like the “little things like that” that we pay attention to for their parent. It’s not a “little thing” to your Mother or Father. And, it’s not to us either.

We Understand the Value of Choice

Seeking help when you need it does not have to mean you or your loved one loses their right to choose how they live their life. Or when and how they receive their care. You can see the value of choice expressed in the broad range of Apartment Homes’ selection available to you at LifeServices Communities. You’ll see the value of choice in our Community’s Dining Menu that offers selections of entrees each and every day. And you’ll see the value of choice in the absence of visiting hours so that residents, families, and friends can come and go as they choose. We have daylong schedules of resident and family activities. Why? Because it’s home. And when you’re at home, you choose.

At LifeServices Assisted Living residences, our approach to care is comprised of four pillars: Independence, Privacy, Dignity, and Choice. Simply put, our approach to service and care -- no matter how major or minor a task may be -- is designed to preserve these four values in our residents’ lives, through the actions taken in our care, not simply through words.

But don’t take our word for it. Come on in and take a look around. You may just like what you see.