Senior Quarters - Options and Choices

Assisted Living care is designed for those who should not live alone but do not need to be in an institutional setting such as a nursing home.

Our residents are generally in good health, but may no longer feel comfortable living alone or wish to be free of the burdens that living alone brings; cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. All our residents have some degree of independence, however some may need assistance with the activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, or remembering to take medication.

Although residents are usually 80 or older, there are often younger people who need this type of assistance due to health problems.

Senior Quarters cannot accept residents who are bed-ridden, who cannot feed themselves, who have a severely restricted diet, or who may have medical needs which are beyond the scope of care of our facility.

We are equipped to work with individuals who display most of the common (and not so common) behaviors associated with Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. Behaviors such as hoarding, "shopping", wandering, paranoia, hiding objects, confusion and disorientation, reluctance to bathe, difficulty dressing, layering of clothing, problems with toileting, agitation, anger, frustration, difficulty with mobility, problems with eating, withdrawal and exit seeking are all behaviors that we expect to see in our residents. We try to "normalize" these behaviors and when they become problematic in our "normalized" environment we brainstorm and try to use creative interventions to lessen the impact of the behavior on the other residents, the environment and the staff.

Physical aggression is very difficult for us to deal with successfully in our environment. If a resident is dangerous to himself or others we will try behavioral intervention first, then use medication when it is ordered. If neither of these interventions is successful, or if the resident's aggression is extreme, we will ask that the resident be placed in an environment either temporarily or permanently that is more capable of intervening with such physical aggression.

Repeated verbal aggression or abuse is also a behavior that is difficult for us to work with as it makes the environment difficult for all who are present. When another resident is the object of the aggression or abuse, and the abuse is not controllable with behavioral intervention or medication, we ask that the resident be placed in a more appropriate setting.

We only use psychoactive medications as a last resort for dealing with resident's problem behaviors. In most cases we will try every other independent intervention possible before giving medication to a resident to control behavior.

The types of Dementia that we see most frequently at Senior Quarters are Alzheimer's type and Vascular type. We will perform pre-admission assessments and evaluations on individuals with other types of Dementia.

The following screening tool can help you determine which type of housing or care is best for you or your loved one. Based on your answers it will suggest the most appropriate options.

For each category below, please select the description that best describes your candidate for senior care. Check only one choice per category.

When finished, click the "submit" button, and the next page will display your results.

1. M O B I L I T Y
	Capable of moving about independently. Able to seek and follow directions. Able to evacuate independently in case of emergency. (1 point)
	Ambulatory with cane or walker. Independent with wheelchair but needs help in emergency. (2 points)
	Requires occasional assistance to move about, but usually independent. (3 points)
	Mobile, but may require assistance due to confusion, poor vision, weakness or poor motivation. (4 points)
	May require assistance when transferring from bed, chair or toilet. (5 points)
	Requires transfer and transport assistance. Requires turning in bed and in wheelchair. (6 points)

2. N U T R I T I O N
	Able to prepare own meals. Eats meals without assistance. (1 point)
	Can do some meal preparation, but needs main meal prepared daily. (3 points)
	Needs all meals prepared and served. (4 points)
	May require assistance getting to meals and or assistance when eating, such as opening cartons or cutting food. (5 points)
	May be mostly or totally dependent on others for nourishment (includes reminders to eat and/or assistance when eating). (6 points)

3. H Y G I E N E
	Independent in all care including bathing, shaving, dressing. (1 point)
	May require assistance with bathing or hygiene or may require reminders or initiation assistance. (4 points)
	Dependent on others for most or all personal hygiene tasks. (6 points)

4. H O U S E K E E P I N G
	Independent in performing housekeeping functions (including bedmaking, vacuuming, cleaning and laundry). (1 point)
	May need assistance with heavy housekeeping, vacuuming, laundry, changing linens. (2 points)
	Needs laundry and housekeeping services provided. (3 points)

5. D R E S S I N G
	Independent and dresses appropriately. (1 point)
	May require assistance with shoelaces, zippers, medical appliances or garments, or may require reminders, motivation or initiation assistance. (4 points)
	Dependent on others for dressing. (5 points)

6. T O I L E T I N G
	Independent and completely continent. (1 point)
	May have incontinence, a colostomy or catheter but is independent in caring for self through proper use of supplies. (2 points)
	May have occasional problems with incontinence, colostomy or catheter care, or may require assistance in caring for self through proper use of supplies. (4 points)
	May be unwilling or unable to manage own incontinence through proper use of supplies or may require physical assistance with toileting on a regular basis. (5 points)
	Regularly and uncontrollably incontinent, dependent or unable to communicate needs. (6 points)

7. M E D I C A T I O N S
	Responsible for self-administration of medications. (1 point)
	Able to self-administer medications, but others may need to remind and monitor the actual process. (3 points)
	Family or home health agency has arranged a medication administration system with reminders and monitoring by family members or others. (4 points)
	Cannot administer own medications, even with supervision. Medications must be administered by licensed personnel. (6 points)

8. M E N T A L S T A T U S
	Oriented to person, place and time. Memory is intact but may have occasional forgetfulness with no pattern of memory loss. Able to reason, plan and organize daily events. Has mental capacity to identify environmental needs and meet them. (1 point)
	May require occasional direction or guidance in getting from place to place, or may have difficulty with occasional confusion that may result in anxiety, social withdrawal or depression. Orientation to time, place or person may be minimally impaired. (3 points)
	Judgment may be poor. May not attempt tasks that are not within capabilities. May require strong orientation assistance and reminders. (5 points)
	Disoriented to time, place and person, or memory is severely impaired. Usually unable to follow directions. (6 points)

9. B E H A V I O R A L S T A T U S
	Deals appropriately with emotions and uses available resources to cope with inner stress. Deals appropriately with others. (1 point)
	May require periodic intervention from others to facilitate expression of feelings in order to cope with inner stress. May require periodic intervention from others to resolve conflicts and cope with stress. (3 points)
	May require regular intervention from others to facilitate expression of feelings and to deal with periodic outbursts of anxiety or agitation. (5 points)
	Maximum intervention is required to manage behavior. May pose physical danger to self or others, or is abusive or unacceptably uncooperative. (6 points)