Supporting Seniors

Free Retirement Home Search Assistance

Supporting Seniors is a free retirement home guide and transition support service that helps seniors and their families find the right retirement residence. With close to one hundred retirement homes in Ottawa, it can be an overwhelming task for seniors and their families to find the one place that has everything they’re looking for. Supporting Seniors makes that process simple by focusing on what is important to them. Whether this means finding a place with lots of natural light, large windows, and walking paths or a place with a view of the city close to shopping, Supporting Seniors will help you find a place that feels like home.

Supporting Seniors was founded in 2016 by Laura Polegato. Her background in senior living and services helped her to see the gaps in services and care while working in the community. There was a need for an independent and unbiased service to guide people through the transition from living at home for as long as possible, to moving into a retirement home. So many people who start their search are soon feeling overwhelmed by the number of residences, the range of options and prices. No two retirement homes are alike. Having an expert in senior living, guide you through the process makes finding the right place a much easier experience, and that’s just what Supporting Seniors does.

How To Choose The Right Retirement Home

Supporting Seniors provides free retirement home search assistance for anyone looking to make the move, whether it’s for themselves or a loved one. To start the process, it’s important to understand what you’re looking for, such as your wants, your needs, and your budget. Some people are independent and they are looking for a place to remain active and social, with lots of activities and programs. Similarly, some people are looking for a place with lots of amenities, like a pool for aquafitness, or a well-landscaped backyard and walking paths for their dog. For others, the focus is on the care that they will need, either at the time or in the near future. They may need assistance with things like their personal care, taking a shower, or even help managing medications. Finding a place that will provide that support is important. Supporting seniors will help you sort through all of the available options to help you determine what you may need.

How Much Do Retirement Homes Cost?

How much a retirement home will cost now and in the future is very important when it comes to choosing the right retirement home. There is a great range of prices, from just under $2,000 per month to $8,000 per month but there are some that are even higher! There are several reasons why you might pay a lot more at one retirement home compared to another. Supporting Seniors will review and explain how it all works and together you can compare places and see why one place is more expensive than the other. This can help you plan and budget and can potentially help you save money in the long run.

Once you know your budget, what you’re looking for and what your care needs are, if any, your Supporting Seniors Retirement Living Guide can begin to eliminate retirement homes from the list that don’t match what you need. When the list is shortened to about 3 to 5 of the places that make the best match, you can choose which ones you would like to visit and tour. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the retirement homes are unable to provide in-person tours, but instead, they are doing virtual tours. You can visit to view a specific suite once you think you like the residence, but you won’t necessarily be able to tour the whole residence, depending on the level of safety precautions at the time. Once you have chosen the place you want to call home, Supporting Seniors will work with you and the residence to make sure your transition and move-in go as smoothly as possible.

Retirement Living That Meets Your Needs

Retirement living is a great choice for many seniors. There are so many different options, with something to fit everyone’s style and taste. You can find places with large lounge areas and grand dining rooms, fitness studios and even movie theatres. Some places are smaller and more home-like, offering few amenities but making up for it in services, programs and activities. What is perfect for one person is too much for another. What is important for everyone, no matter their taste or style, is great staff and care, good food and a place that feels like home.

It’s important to choose a retirement home that not only meets your needs of today but also your future needs. Supporting Seniors want you to find the place that will make you happy and healthy for years to come. Nobody likes moving, so choosing a place that will accommodate your needs as things change is important to avoid having to move again. Supporting Seniors will review all of the places and the care that they provide to help you make an informed decision about which home will best meet your needs. Not all retirement homes provide a full range of care, so it’s important to know what care is provided, even if when you first move in, you don’t need any care to start. As long as you know what to expect you’ll be able to plan and make decisions.

Independent Living and Assisted Living

Retirement homes offer a range of services and lifestyle and care options. While they all offer independent living, not all of them provide assisted living care or memory care. Even the independent living lifestyle may vary from one residence to another. Most homes will provide weekly housecleaning, weekly laundry services for your towels and linens, and at least one meal per day, all of which are included in the monthly rate. Some places may include all 3 meals a day, or offer other services like personal laundry. If a retirement home provides assisted living care, it is usually provided on a separate floor, for anyone who needs support with their daily needs. This includes getting ready in the morning and evening, taking medication, help with a shower, or their mobility getting to and from meals or activities. The assisted living floor has its own nurses station and often there will be a private dining room and lounge. Assisted living care services also include laundry services and housekeeping.

Retirement Homes with Memory Care

Memory care is specialized care for people who are living with dementia like Alzheimer’s disease or Vascular dementia. This level of care provides all of the physical care support that assisted living provides, as well as services and activities that are tailored to the needs of those living with dementia. Memory care will also be provided on a separate floor, but unlike the assisted living floor, it is almost always secure. This means that the entrances are secured by electronic keys or codes to get in and out. This is for the safety of the residents who may wander, or are described as “exit-seeking” and if who were not on a secure floor, may leave the building and not know how to get back. Or dress inappropriately for the weather and put themselves at risk of injury. Residents who live on the memory care floor do leave the floor with staff or family to go on outings, enjoy live entertainment or events in the residence, to go outside or on walks. Staff who work on the memory care floor are specially trained to care for people living with dementia. Programs and activities will be tailored to different levels of need, including trivia and games, reminiscing, sensory activities, fitness and music programs.

Moving a loved one into memory care can be a hard decision to make for families. Loved ones may refuse to move, or they may not have insight into their situation and not realize that they can no longer live safely on their own. It can be difficult for spouses to be separated but also challenging for them to stay together, especially if one is the caregiver and they have their own health conditions to manage. Supporting Seniors has helped many families and couples work through this challenging time to make it as easy as possible for everyone involved. There are certain steps you can take to minimize the stress from the transition for your loved one. Your Supporting Seniors Retirement Living Guide will be there to walk you through it step by step. When it comes to choosing the right place for your loved one, your Guide will take great care to make sure you’re comfortable with the process and the residence before moving forward.

Your Retirement Living Guide

Having a Supporting Seniors Retirement Living Guide to support you in your transition to retirement living has many benefits over doing all the work on your own. With a database of over one hundred retirement homes, up-to-date prices and availability, Supporting Seniors can find the type of residence with the care and price you need in as little as one day! Most people take weeks and even months on their own looking for the right place. That’s because they simply don’t have access to all of the information that a Retirement Living Guide has. And unlike your Guide, this is probably the first time you have ever looked for a retirement residence. Supporting Seniors’ Guides have helped hundreds of people and have been to visit dozens of retirement homes, many of them over a dozen times each! It’s great to have the support and guidance of someone who has been to visit so many different places, especially during a pandemic when you cant go visit the homes in person yourself because they can give you their firsthand experience! Your Retirement Living Guide will also provide you with an overview of the costs and details of the retirement homes so that you can make your decision knowing you have all the information you need.

Supporting Seniors makes it easy to find the right place for you or your loved one. Whether that’s Independent living, assisted living, memory care or even a short-term respite stay, a Supporting Seniors Retirement Living Guide will help you find exactly what you’re looking for – the place that makes you feel Happy, Healthy, Home.