Assisted Living Directory Blog

For many of us, Thanksgiving is a time of happiness and joy - a time where families get together, and we celebrate abundance, health and all of the things that we are thankful for.

However, for some, Thanksgiving is a time to face a family member who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  Imagine not having seen a loved one for over a year - perhaps a grandmother, or even mom or dad, and realizing that the memories are slipping, if not gone.

Or, try to imagine seeing your loved one at Thanksgiving, only to become aware for the first time that things are just not quite right.   You might notice that the house is in disarray, or clothes are disheveled, or there is an overwhelming sense of confusion in your loved one’s home.

These are scenarios that have happened at every Thanksgiving, and will most certainly happen for some people this year as well.

For those who are going to visit an elderly loved one this year - a loved one not having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s - take a moment to look for some of the signs of Alzheimer’s - forgetfulness, mismatched clothing, or just about anything else out of the ordinary.   We suggest this for the sole reason that early detection can make such a huge difference in the treatment of Alzheimer’s.

Keep in mind too that memory loss is not always Alzheimer’s disease - it could also be issues related to stress or vitamin deficiency.

For those visiting someone who is already diagnosed, we only suggest that you not forget to talk to them, and to show them the love you have always had for them.

To everyone - we wish you the very happiest Thanksgiving.

I am a little embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) before today.   I would like to think that I have included care and facilities on this site for all types of dementia, but I have failed to mention this type anywhere on the site.

It has an interesting and unique name, which is why I am surprised I had never heard about it.

I came across a great site today that is dedicated to Lewy Body Dementia.   Basically, this disease is described as “a progressive brain disease and the second leading cause of degenerative dementia in the elderly. The clinical name, “dementia with Lewy bodies” (DLB), accounts for up to 20% of all dementia cases, or 800,000 patients in the US. Over 50% of Parkinson’s disease patients develop “Parkinson’s disease dementia” (PDD), which accounts for at least 750,000 patients. (PDD is also a Lewy body dementia.)”

I don’t know yet if there are any assisted living facilities that care specifically for LBD, but I’ll try to find out and list them in the appropriate places on my site.

For those suffereing from Lewy Body Dementia, or for the loved ones of those struggling with this disease,  I apologize for not representing you on the site.   I’ll get to work on it.

Here is an interesting video clip that talks a little bit about the difficulties in diagnosing this disease.

We have spent several years compiling information for our site.   There are, by some estimates, close to 50,000 assisted living facilities in the United States, so getting them all in one place is a daunting task.  I don’t know if I will ever reach that goal with this site, but I will sure try.

We do have enough content on the site now that will allow me to start breaking out city pages from our state pages for facilities.   I have resisted doing this aggressively until I was comfortable that there was enough on the site to warrant it, and now I believe that on many pages I can do so.

It will be a slow process - I’d rather focus on quality and accuracy.  However, I think this will be useful to our visitors to see all of the facilities, as well as other useful information about particular cities on our site.

I have been managing the content on this site for about 5 years now, and I thought that I had covered most of the major cities in the US.  Of course, since there are over 40,000 assisted living facilities in the US, naturally I probably won’t have them all on this site.   Additionally, every day there seems to be a new facility being built somewhere in the US - or even several at a time.

I realized today that I had neglected to include assisted living for Auburn, Alabama on the site.   This is a pretty big town of close to 60,000 people (depending on who you get your information from).

One of the reasons may be that, relatively speaking, Auburn has a pretty small senior population - something like 6-7% of the total population for Auburn.  This, compared to the national average of 12.4% is pretty low.  Still, there are thousands of residents over the age of 65 in Auburn, so I think this was a worthwhile market to add to the site.

One reason this percentage may be a bit low is because Auburn is a college town.  I have noticed in my efforts to add cities and markets that any time there is a large college population in a town, the senior population is much lower in terms of percentage.

I received an interesting email today. I did not have an answer for the fellow, but he was basically asking about starting a home for “Elderly roommates.”  I thought it was a really great idea, but had never really heard about it before.   Maybe someone reading will have some insight for us.   His email was:

“Hi, I have a 3300sq ft. house that I would like to rent to elderly people in my community. I have heard that there are individuals in my community that would live together as roommates who rent a home.
My wife and I are high school teachers for the past 22 years in our community of Apple Valley,Ca”

In the years that I have been working on this website, adding facilities and articles, it never occured to me that there is a segment of our population that (to me) seems under-represented in terms of assisted living.  This group is our military veterans.

There are almost 24 million military veterans in the United States, and almost 7 million of those veterans are over the age of 65.  I would think that there would be a lot more visibility and advertising for assisted living facilities for veterans - facilities that cater to people who have served in our military.

I know that there are numerous state-run facilities where veterans get benefits, but what I am talking about are facilities that are decorated as such - with flags, and military memorabilia on the walls, and a sense of community shared with other veterans.

This idea is also not to be limited to those who are seniors - but also available to veterans who have perhaps been disabled in the line of duty, who may also be younger, in their 20’s and 30’s.   I know that there is such a population.

I got the idea and inspiration to create a page in our directory for assisted living for veterans when I read a news article introducing a facility in Jacksonville, Florida that is brand-new, and caters to veterans.  I applaud Wakefield Place for creating an inspired home for our brave military veterans.

For more information on veteran’s affairs and assisted living, please visit www.va.gov

With all of the doom and gloom of the economy as of late, I was wondering if that affects the assisted living industry?  I am no economist, but I would imagine that it wouldn’t affect it negatively, since, if people need help or assistance, they really need to get it.  You can’t stop the aging process, and you can’t stop the progression of some diseases or conditions.

I would bet that the assisted living industry will remain a growth industry regardless of what the economy does.  Again, I am no economy guru, but that is my guess.

Here is an e-mail I received - I normally would delete but this one had some substance, so I thought I would post it.  This email does not indicated a “political stance” by our site by any means.

Hello to my fellow retirees,

Like many of you, Social Security is my principal source of income. Can you imagine if it had been privatized, as John McCain has wanted to do for years?  What a fix we’d be in right now!  Of course, today his proposals would affect only future seniors, but is that what you want to wish on future retirees?  To have modest income one day, only to have a large percentage of it disappear when another market bubble bursts?

We need to retire John McCain.  He was once a man of integrity who has run the sleaziest campaign in living memory.  Even Karl Rove has said that his anti-Obama ads stretch the truth beyond acceptable limits.  That’s Karl Rove, Bush’s chief strategist!  And now we learn that Clean John McCain is in bed with the gambling industry!

I say, give Obama/Biden a chance.  They are men of integrity, and they certainly can’t do a worse job than Bush/McCain.

Timothy Smith
Rehoboth Beach, DE

I keep thinking that I just don’t like the term “Assisted Living Facility.”  There is something about it that bugs me, and I think I know what it is.

The word “Facility” to me brings up images of stark hallways, sterile, washed out surroundings, beeping medical equipment, and a prison-like atmosphere.  Why I get this image I am not sure - maybe holding on too tightly to stereotypes of the past when nursing homes and hospitals were scary places of neglect and sadness.

I know that nowadays, most assisted living facilities strive to make their environment more homelike, and in some cases “resort” like.  I also know that many “facilities” are actually converted houses in residential areas that look nothing like a medical building or business.

That’s why I like “Assisted Living Homes” when referring to a senior care environment that offers assisted living.  It sounds more “homelike” - a place where apple pie is baking and a lazy housecat is resting on the couch.  After all, who wants to live in a facility.  I’d rather live in a home.

I completely forgot - that last week (the 7th through the 13th) was National Assisted Living week.  Gee whiz, I need to take my head out of the sand!  However, I’ll have to admit, this ‘event’ is a little bit obscure, kind of like Secretary’s day - something that doesn’t get a lot of national press or attention.

It should - as this is one of the fastest growing markets in our country, serving one of the fastest demographics in our country.

“The bond between staffers of assisted living facilities across the state and the seniors they help care for is the focus of National Assisted Living Week” as was proclaimed by Governor Dave Heineman of Nebraska.

I’ll try not to forget next year - not to say that if I forget, I will do anything differently - but, at least I will be able to write about it before it has passed!