July 24, 2024

“Why Am I Here?” How HCPs Can Help Patients Make the Transition to a Senior Living Community

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

As practically anyone who has ever moved will attest, relocation can be a taxing experience. For seniors it can be even more difficult, especially if they are moving to a senior living community from a residence where they have spent a significant portion of their life. Healthcare professionals who understand the benefits of a high-quality senior living community and its potential for maintaining or even improving one’s physical, mental and emotional health can play an important role in assessing a patient’s needs and preferences, as well as helping to select the right senior living community to meet those needs and preferences.

Once seniors have chosen a community, it’s time to focus on the finer details of the transition, including coordination of care, practical arrangements and follow-up. The patient and their family will most likely have questions throughout the process, and they may well be looking to you for ongoing advice and guidance. As a trusted healthcare provider, you are in a position to help them stay prepared, both practically and emotionally, for this crucial stage of their journey.

Creating a Transition Plan and Coordinating Medical Care

By this point, your senior patient may have become comfortable with the idea of change. You may have helped facilitate meaningful, transparent and productive conversations with thoughtful planning, thorough research and attentiveness to the patient’s voice.

Once the idea has progressed from theoretical to a pending reality, many choices remain. Decisions that might be more logistic than clinical in nature still have the potential to influence your patient’s emotional well-being, and in turn their overall physical and mental health. Your reassuring presence and expertise and your knowledge of the patient can help keep the process flowing as smoothly as possible. Patients and families will undoubtedly appreciate your consistent support as the move nears.

However, your most essential role during this period is likely to be helping to coordinate care with the team at the new community. Many communities, including Brookdale, will work with you on the development of a personalized service plan for your patient, based on factors such as diagnoses, dietary requirements, medications and mobility. This might include management of chronic conditions, as well as preventive care. You’ll want to communicate with the new community to ensure the smooth transfer of medical records, medications and care plans to help avoid interruptions in care.

Providing peace of mind to seniors and their families by assuring them that you are helping with clinical matters helps allow them to focus on details such as creating a workable timeline for the move, preferably one with reasonable deadlines that minimize feelings of being rushed or under pressure. Logistics to consider include hiring movers, preparing the new living space and ensuring that all personal items needed are available.

Chances are, the move will necessitate downsizing, which may mean selling, donating or otherwise disposing of belongings. Such decisions often provoke emotional responses when seniors must confront the reality that their new home simply cannot contain all of their possessions accumulated over years, and sometimes decades. Family members and caregivers can help determine which items are most indispensable in creating an environment that feels most comforting. If your own conversations with the patient generate any insights, be sure to share them with family, caregivers and/or staff at the community.

Follow-Up and Ongoing Support

Unless your patient is moving to a different geographic area, you may likely continue to be their physician. As such, you will want to monitor their adjustment to their new living arrangements. Keep in touch with your patient and/or their family, as well as the staff of the senior living community, to stay informed about any issues or concerns that may arise. Your ongoing support and advocacy may help the community meet your patient’s needs and that they’re adapting not only to their new home, but also their new lifestyle.

At Brookdale, we value careful coordination and partnerships with healthcare professionals before, during and after patients’ transition to one of our communities. The personalized care we provide can help your patients stay healthier longer while avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions. We track resident care using an EHR and strive to keep the lines of communication open between community, patient and provider. We realize the importance of a coordinated care team made up of both internal and external providers, to help meet the unique needs of senior patients. We welcome the opportunity to help you serve yours.

Learn More

Are you a physician or other healthcare professional who wants to learn more about why Brookdale Senior Living is a smart choice for your patients? Not only do we offer social engagement opportunities, but we can also provide your patients with personalized care, medications management and assistance managing chronic conditions to help them stay healthier longer. Let’s work together.

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