Episcopal Church Home - Louisville

Aging isn’t cheap, especially when you factor in everything from healthcare to living arrangements. In particular, many families don’t think they can afford senior living communities.

As it turns out, however, aging in place comes with its own set of financial challenges — many of which are unknown and therefore left out of the planning process.

Do you think of retirement communities as a last resort? Whether for a parent, grandparent or any other elderly loved one, you may assume that you should try to keep them out of a retirement community for as long as possible. Even if you have no choice but to move them into one, it’s common to feel a sense of shame or guilt.

In fact, not only is there nothing wrong with moving your parents or other family members into a retirement community, but it also may be the best way to help them remain social, active and healthy.

This year marked a milestone for Episcopal Church Home: We won one of Louisville Business First’s Best Places to Work in Greater Louisville Awards, after we were nominated for the first time.

We were honored to receive this recognition because it didn’t just come from Business First — it came from our own staff. An independent firm surveyed employees throughout Greater Louisville about workplace policies, office conditions, management styles and more, and ECH was one of 22 companies and nonprofits that scored high enough employee engagement to make Business First’s Best Places to Work list.

A diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s in an elderly loved one can feel overwhelming — and so can the prospect of moving them from their own home into a memory care community.

And it only becomes more difficult if your parent doesn’t want to move, whether because they don’t think they need to or simply don’t want to leave their home. You can’t just leave them where they are if they’re unable to care for themselves, but you also don’t want to force them into such a big decision.

Of all the decisions you make with your parents, few carry more weight than the choice of elder care. The better you are at finding a safe and comfortable elder care solution for your parents, the easier it is for them to stay healthy and happy for the rest of their lives.

One big decision you’ll likely face is whether to move your parents into independent living, personal care or memory care or allow them to age in place. In making this decision, you and your parents need to consider all the pros and cons of aging in place:

Family caregivers of seniors with moderate to severe memory loss often struggle to define "meaningful, quality time" with their older loved ones.

How do you communicate with an elder whose mind is being ravaged by Alzheimer's dementia? Do they even know that you're there, let alone know how you feel about them?

In June, you may have seen people in Louisville wearing a lot of purple. That’s because it was Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month, an annual effort to raise funds for dementia and brain research, sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association.

Every summer, the Alzheimer's Association and participants ask folks to #GoPurple to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The need never ceases for critical dementia and neurological research funding.

When the time comes for your senior loved one to be placed in residential memory care for advanced dementia or Alzheimer's, how can you ease his or her transition to a new senior living community?

How can you reduce your parent's anxiety and ensure that the move goes as smoothly as possible?

Louisville families ask us these questions all the time. Luckily, there are tried-and-true tactics that can help your loved one accomplish the move without feeling fear or disruption.

Let's talk about them today.

Many Louisville families worry about paying for memory care when their older loved ones are diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

At Episcopal Church Home, we do our best to help family caregivers understand what they can do to provide for their relatives' care. And our promise, as a person-centered, not-for-profit retirement care organization, is never to ask an ECH resident who has outlived his or her monetary resources to move.

When your older parent is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, what steps should you take? Suddenly, you find yourself thrust into the role of dementia caregiver, which has to be scary for you.

And it's probably equally frightening for your loved one to face the prospect of developing what unfortunately remains a difficult-to-treat, incurable disease. How can you alleviate your parent's fears and make sure that your mom or dad has the care and support he or she needs?