Introduction to Retirement Living with Lynn Creasy

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following is a podcast from a qualified senior care provider part on the answers for elders radio show. Welcome to everyone, back to answers for elders radio and I am here with our wonderful resident senior living expert Lynn creasy from Foundation House. And then welcome back, hey. We are here in the month of June where we’re talking about transitions and changes and you know, transitions are big winches. Seeing always expected and yeah, be part of your life is they say, the only thing constant in this world is changed. That’s right then. Some of US love change and some of us don’t like a start very much. I know. I know in my world it’s like I love change, I love, you know, variety in my life. My husband hates it. So there you go. The that striking the balance. So you help. Obviously you’ve been so gracious to talk about and being there for our senior seniors and their families and helping educate and guide them into this next step. But this is an overwhelming time of a senior’s life when obviously there’s a lot of letting go. You know, maybe it’s the family home, maybe it’s a you know, fifty five plus community going into assisted living, you know, different things like that, and so you know, tell us a little bit land and about how have how have your residence made that process easy? You have any stories, but I don’t know if I do. I don’t think any any of the process is easy. No, unless I have I do have a very short story where I had a resident come in and basically, at the end said it feels like home and and that’s most important and that is it makes everybody’s Day. But every community has a different vibe, it has a different feeling and that feeling needs to be right for the for the perspective resident, but also you really need to take into effect what they’re offering besides the independent living amenities and that that brings in the health care and then nurse saying, and you know, all of that is personnel like you. We’ve talked about previously. Yeah, so obviously one of the things I think that we talked about is is that how to families make that first step, whether it you’re senior looking for yourself or your you’re a, you know, family member of you know, I senior loved one. How do you make that first step? A lot of people, family members try to do it on their own to help out their family members, which I think is is a great first step. But there are so many great eight senior consultants, one of who is Daphne and pinnacle, who really have the heart, their heart in the right place and they have all the intentions and knowledge of knowing what might be best for that person and where they are healthwise, mentally, what location they would want to be in, etc. So I believe that that would be a really good first step. MMM, outside of a senior consultant, if the person really wants to stay in the vicinity that they’re already in, look around into that direct community. HMM, and there’s probably five or six different retirement communities that they can investigate. You know, it’s interesting when you say that, because my mom wanted to stay in my hometown. Right. She knows everything. She knows where I owe and I want to be near safe way her this was her thing. I want to be where my grocery store is. It’s like, I’m going, okay, but I didn’t know any different right that she’s eventually not going to be going to safe way right. I’m you know, I was way down in Seattle and at the time and she was way up in Anacortis right. So it wasn’t logistically a very good step for us to take initially because I didn’t understand what needed to happen and so and you know, and I didn’t have the foresight and the understanding of what her long term needs were going to be. So if I had somebody like a Daphnee to help guide me as a family member, if you have a if you have a loved one that may lived, you know, more than twenty, two, fifty miles from you, you may want to rethink the location of what is most important. And I mean, what do you think? Yeah, I actually have a very similar story. So my mother was living in Georgia, MMM with her not my father, my second husband, who passed, and the decision was made that we were going to get her closer back to family. My aunt, her sister, lives in California and I was living currently in Portland and we really had a big discussion about where to locate her and what she wanted and all of that needs to take to come into play. And it and it turned out that she is now six blocks from my aunt and they were while I’m always been really close and it worked out really well. So I think it just need you just need to look at all the pieces and try to make the best decision and make sure that it matches with that person well, and I think sometimes hard to do because the siblings always get involved. It does. And and the thing too, is is that to have a professional that that sits down and may have a oneonone conversation with your part you knows, somebody like a Daphne is going to sit there and say what do you want? Don’t listen to the chatter of it’s your different kids that are probably all on a different page. She offers an objective. Yeah, that’s outside of the family bicker and she asolutely can hone in on the needs of that person and the wants of that person. Well, absolutely, and and to think about, you know, how do you, you know, make that determination? Is You know, the thing that’s great about Daphne is she doesn’t cost a family anything. She’s right hundred percent free. So that’s the beauty of this. And certainly having the ability to work in you know, and conjunction with your family and with your senior loved one just just defined the right fix fit, because there is absolutely no difference between the two, is for sure. Is there? Right? So we are talking again to Lynn Creasy, and Lynn, you’re from foundation house at northgate. So tell us what about foundation house? We’re talking about how to make that decision. You know, what are your boxes that you check off? Yeah, we we are a not for profit standalone community in a little nook and cranny north of Northgate Mall, very easy off the freeway to, very easy off the freeway, great location and we’re a community of our residents are are on the younger side, full of life, independent for the most part, Um and of course we do offer assisted living for those that need it. Hm, we run a staff of longevity and and and also, you know, we become part of your family, which I think is is really important for the resident well, and I think it’s to that. You know, what I love about your concept is, number one, you guys. There’s so many different requirements to so many different types of communities, you know, and you guys really make it easy for a senior to come and stay with you. Tell us about that piece. Yeah, and and full disclosure. You know, every community offers different things to different residents through, for instance, one of the things that we have as a mandate for assisted living or independent living is that that resident needs to be ambilatory, which breaks down to basically they need to walk by themselves, which are with a walker or with a Walker, and if if they need help from the outside or if they are having some surgery, they might be at a rehab part time and then come back to their home at foundation house in North so we also we do not have memory care. There are specialty places that I could recommend that right just do memory care and not something to consider when you’re when you’re looking at a community. Huh, we don’t have rehab either. So we’re primarily independent. We have assisted living, which keeps us a very lively community, but we have connections and resources for all the things that someone might need right in that meantime. Well, and I think too, when you’re when you’re looking at a community, you know, Foundation House you get you have a lot to offer. That fills a knitch and I think that’s something that there’s a lot of seniors out there that may just they’re just tired of trying to take care of their house. You know, they got to have them lawnmode, they got to worry about who’s going to clean my gutters out, you know my property taxes every year and that’s are going up and up and up in the city of Seattle, and certainly having that ability to have all that weight list lifted off your shoulder and to create a home just, you know, your own furniture, your own you know, things that you love around you, to have your own living space, but then be in a place where, as your needs progress right that there’s somebody there to take care of you is a huge piece of mind. Yes, as a introductory when someone is quite independent and their independence is starting to wane slightly, you nailed it on the head. As far as you know, maybe they don’t need, they don’t want to mow the lawn and they’re getting tired of doing laundry and housekeeping. So those things that they really don’t want to do or keep up with, those are done for them right at Foundation House and it allows them to be able to participate in the social activities and the outings and really be social with the other residents, if that’s what they choose to be. Well, a nice thing to do. That’s so critical. The social peace is something that I can’t we can’t emphasize enough. If, if you’re loved one, are you as a senior or sitting home watching TV and are spending your days alone, that is not good for you in a multitude of ways. I have a story on that. One one of our residents. He had been in contact with us for several years and living in his own home in the North Gate area and he finally came in and said, okay, I’d like to move in and we said to him, you know what, what was it that changed? And he said, you know what, I got tired of eating alone. Oh, blesses heart, and he’s flourishing. I love he can have the independence that he wants in his own, his own apartment, but he can also share, partake in anything social and meet new friends and have all friends around as well. Yeah, oh my gosh, what an amazing story and that that it just touches my heart because it’s true. You know, they say say sixty percent of seniors are without regular visitors, and that to me is tragic. What has happened to the society. So anytime you can bring a community together that’s lively and full of activities and things like that, that’s going to keep them younger and you know, they’re quality of life so much better. So thank you for all you do for our seniors. So Lynn, how do we reach to? Several different ways, but primarily our phone number is two thousand and six, three hundred and six, one, two, seven, five eight. You can call in any time, give you a tour, you can share a meal in an. In addition, our website is foundation house and G as in northgatecom awesome. Thanks so much for being on the show with a man. Thank you for having me answers for elders radio show with Susan Newman. Hopes you found this podcast useful in your journey of navigating senior care. Check out more podcast like this to help you find qualified senior care experts and areas of financial, legal, health and wellness and living options. Learn about our radio show, receive our monthly newsletter, receive promotional discounts and meet our experts by clicking on the banner to join the Senior Advocate Network at answers for elders RADIOCOM. Now there is one place to find the answers for elders