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Enhancing Independence
Having
worked at Copeland Oaks for close to 13 years, I have
personally assisted thousands of individuals who researched
Copeland Oaks for themselves or a loved one. The question I
often hear from people is, why should a person move to
Copeland Oaks, while they are still independent and active?
This is a hard question to answer in just a paragraph or
two, but, I will share with you what some of our independent
living residents have told me, as to why they decided to
move to Copeland Oaks, while they could have easily stayed
in their own home or have moved to a stand alone condo
community:
1)
No
family and/or friends in the area:
It can be extremely difficult for family/friends to look
after someone who has chosen to ‘stay’ in their own home or
condo. (as long as possible), when they live far away and
their loved one is not able to care for/look after their own
personal health and safety needs. I’ve observed hundreds of
situations where family members/friends had to make many
personal, familial, and career sacrifices, in order to
arrange for/look after their parent/relatives many needs
(housing, health care, nutrition, safety, etc,.). When I
talk with these family members, in most all cases, they tell
me how they truly wished their parent/relative would have
moved to Copeland Oaks while they were still independent and
could have made the decision on their own free will.
Because, in most cases, when the parent/relative waits until
a crisis hits, it's much more difficult because: a) many
decisions have to be made in a rush, the family member has
to make a sudden change in their family/work schedule to
help intervene, and c) the older family member/relative is
much more ‘resistant’ and ‘anxious’ about making a change,
because of all the sudden changes that they are experiencing
at the time. Our residents who made the conscious decision
to come on their own and move to an independent house or
apartment, while they could make their own decisions and
were able to do so, avoided the above scenario.
2)
They
wanted to choose their ‘own’ place/community:
Many of
our residents have told me that they chose to move to
Copeland Oaks while they were still independent and active,
because they wanted the peace of mind knowing that if
assisted living or nursing care was ever needed at some
future point in time, they wanted the assurance they would
receive this type of care close by and at a quality facility
such as Copeland Oaks’ assisted living apartments or the
Crandall Medical Center nursing and rehab. facility, which
is located right next to Copeland Oaks.
3)
They
desire to be able to live with/near their spouse as long as
possible:
We have had situations where a husband and wife first moved
into an apartment or villa home together, but eventually,
one spouse needed care and moved to either assisted living
or the nursing care center and the other stayed in their
villa home or apartment. They still always lived in close
proximity to each other, which made visiting much easier.
4)
Did not
want to be a burden on children, relatives, or friends:
Many of our residents have told me that they had to look
after/care for their own parents/relatives. Because it was
a very stressful and challenging time for all involved, they
wanted to make a real plan to avoid this same situation from
falling on the shoulders of their children/family. They
said they just prefer to be independent from others in the
future. By their moving to Copeland Oaks early, they
avoided this ‘dependent upon others scenario’, because
Copeland Oaks has all the levels of living on the
same/one-site (independent living, assisted living, and
nursing care).
5)
Comprehensive list of services available right on the
Copeland Oaks campus:
It’s often easier for Copeland Oaks residents to stay in
their own independent living residence longer, because of
the numerous on-site services available at Copeland Oaks
such as: transportation, dental, physician, pharmacy
delivery, grocery delivery, massotherapy, physical therapy,
audiology, podiatry, home health, visiting nurse, 24 hour
urgent health clinic, dining, and others.
Hence, as our residents say and people are often surprised
to learn, when a person chooses to move to Copeland Oaks,
while they are ‘still independent and active’, in
reality, they actually increase their chances of
‘remaining independent and active’ longer
throughout life. Again, I can’t tell you how many times
children have said to me how grateful and thankful they were
that Mom/Dad, Aunt/Uncle chose, on their own, to move to
Copeland Oaks while they were able to make the
transition/decision on their own. |
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Retaining Optimal Health / Active Life-Style
There are
many studies in gerontological research, which show that
adults who remain physically, mentally, and socially active,
can significantly delay/lessen their decline in their
physical and cognitive functioning abilities. As one of the
country’s leading/most complete retirement living
destinations, Copeland Oaks offers a wide variety of
activity opportunities to help residents remain active as
long as possible. In fact, I have personally witnessed
numerous residents who, prior to their move to Copeland
Oaks, were experiencing symptoms of depression, loneliness,
fatigue, and worry. After a few months of being around
people and participating in many of our special and
regularly scheduled activities and events, they did a
complete transformation and developed a renewed sense of
spirit and well-being. It has been wonderful to see and a
blessing to witness. I have had numerous sons and daughters
say to me how much their parent(s) mental, spiritual, and
social health had improved after they moved Copeland Oaks.
Copeland Oaks has
a full-time Director of Wellness, who helps plan
activities, events, and programs to help people stay fit
longer, in comparison to not living at Copeland Oaks. There
are also close to FIFTY different groups/clubs for residents
to participate in:
Click here for more detailed
information.
Having several
dining venues close by, often helps people better meet their
nutritional needs.
In conclusion,
people who move to Copeland Oaks while still independent,
can not only increase their ability/chances of ‘remaining’
independent longer throughout life, they can better
increase their ability/chances of ‘retaining’ their
physical and cognitive skills longer as well. |
