If you’ve just begun researching aging services options in Illinois, you may have come across a few key terms and phrases that you are unfamiliar with. At Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care, we know that choosing the right community can be stressful and overwhelming, and it is our topmost goal to provide warm, compassionate assistance during times of transition.
“What is Sheltered Care?”
This is one of the most common questions we hear when people visit our beautiful, five-acre campus in North Riverside, Ill. At Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care, the care option licensed as Sheltered Care is similar to Assisted Living, with several important additional perks provided at affordable Assisted Living prices. These additional benefits often make Sheltered Care a better option for you or your loved one than traditional Assisted Living environments.
Read over our responses to the following frequently asked questions and please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information or to schedule a tour of our campus.
What exactly is Assisted Living?
You’re probably familiar with the term Assisted Living, but what exactly does it mean? Assisted Living is a senior living option designed for those who can’t or aren’t comfortable living independently anymore. Assisted Living typically includes a light level of care when you first move in, and is intended for those who need a little assistance with the tasks of daily living. In a classic Assisted Living environment, the assistance you receive is scheduled rather than on-demand. For example, you may receive assistance bathing on a set schedule or you may have assistance dressing or undressing at set times of day. You might receive a reminder about meal times, but you are expected to be able to get yourself to and from meals with little help. For these reminders and scheduled care, you are billed at a set rate. Oftentimes, if you find you need more care after you move to an Assisted Living environment, you may find that there is an additional cost. Many Assisted Livings have a tiered billing approach, with as many as six levels of care contained under the broader heading of Assisted Living. As your needs change and you require more extensive help, your bill would increase incrementally. At a certain point, when you find you need more than pre-scheduled help and want to switch to on-demand services, you are required to move from Assisted Living to the more expensive Skilled Nursing care environments either on your campus or at another community.
What is Sheltered Care?
At Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care, Sheltered Care is our alternative to Assisted Living, with several additional benefits to residents and their families. Sheltered Care at Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care provides all of the same services you will find in Assisted Living: help with daily tasks like dressing and bathing, reminders for meals, medication management, etc. However, in Sheltered Care, we can often provide more extensive care than an Assisted Living license allows. Although many residents move in needing only minimal assistance, we are able to tailor our help to those requiring more significant amounts of care when they move in or as they age in place.
It’s important to note that unlike traditional Assisted Living environments, our Sheltered Care allows us to offer on-demand assistance for you if you require more care, at the push of a button from the comfort of your own apartment. This may take the form of assistance getting to or from the bathroom, someone to help you return to your apartment after an activity or help simply making a phone call to a family member. This personalized, resident-determined care often results in people being able to age in place longer with fewer moves and interruptions.
I am still very active and need only minimal help. Is Sheltered Care the right setting for me?
Absolutely. Our Sheltered Care setting is spread over two distinct areas of our legacy building, The Scottish Home. The Highlands, located on the second floor, is the ideal setting for those who only desire minimal assistance. In addition to your apartment, the Highlands provides access to a large, comfortable Great Room, kitchen and other community spaces. Scheduled assistance is available for those daily tasks where you may require a little extra help. Those that live at The Scottish Home often consider the whole building their home, not limited to their apartment, and you’ll often find people reading the newspaper in the living room in the morning or entertaining friends in our private dining room.
If your needs change and you find you need more care and assistance, you may choose to move to our other Sheltered Care setting, the Great Glen, where we offer extra support for an all-inclusive price – including regular wellness checks by the excellent nursing staff, extra assistance with daily activities and personal escorts to meals and activities. Our compassionate and experienced staff can adjust their level of assistance with minimal disruptions to your home and daily life, which means you would only move to skilled nursing if and when you truly need skilled care.
I am able to perform many daily activities but need assistance with others. How do I know which level of Sheltered Care is right for me?
The dedicated and experienced staff at Caledonia Senior Living is happy to help you determine whether Sheltered Care is the right care option for you and whether the Highlands or the Great Glen would best meet your needs. Whichever part of our campus is the right fit for you, your monthly fee will be an all-inclusive rate, which covers three meals a day, snacks, activities and care tailored specifically to your needs and interests.