Clearing Up Common Misconceptions About Assisted Living

When you hear “assisted living”, what comes to mind for you? Many people aren’t sure what to think or don’t have personal experience with assisted living communities, so the topic can conjure up a variety of negatively skewed preconceived notions. Whether that’s from stories they’ve heard, news they’ve read, or movies they’ve seen, sometimes, those notions are far from the truth or exclusive to one individual outlier. 

To us, the benefits of assisted living communities shine brightly and deserve to be highlighted! We’ve seen firsthand time and time again the personalized support assisted living communities provide, resulting in residents living a fulfilling, dignified, joy-filled life that prolongs as much independence as possible. 

To that end, we’re here to clear up a few of the common misconceptions that exist around assisted living. While it’s difficult to coin any one person or organization an “expert” in the entire category of assisted living… we’ll humbly admit: we’re confident you can trust us as an industry leader in assisted living for over a century.  

 
Misconception #1: Assisted living is for people who are “old or sick”. 
Truth: Assisted Living is for a huge variety of people – many of whom you’d never anticipate need assistance just by looking at them. 
 
Assisted living is a gift to so many people who aren’t at their best when living completely independently, but don’t need full-on nursing care. At many senior communities, including ours, there are more than one level or type of assisted living, and within each of those, there are additional catered options for personalizing the support. That means – there’s a level of assistance for everyone, and for many it’s minimal.  

Assisted living could be right for someone who needs no daily support, but prefers to live in a spacious private apartment where there are caregivers 24/7 just in case. Assisted living could be for someone who is mentally sharp as a tack and a chronic disease has made it difficult to get in and out of bed, the shower, or to the dining room table. It could be for someone who prefers their medications be coordinated daily and brought to them at the correct times by trained staff.  

The list goes on… and for each person, the utmost care is put into ensuring they receive the right combination of assistance, delivered in the most comfortable environment, maintaining as much independence as possible. Think of assisted living as providing a built-in layer of personal assistance that’s catered to your every need… and not for what you can keep doing independently. 
 

Misconception #2: It’s impossible to know when the time is right to move to assisted living. 
Truth: There are abundant resources and dedicated people to support you in knowing when the time is right for assisted living. 

Just like the decision to make any move, moving to assisted living is a big deal and there are many factors to consider. 

We (and many senior communities) have helpful resources, free tools, and full-time specialists on staff whose job is specifically to help you with this! 

Many people like to start with our free, online, quick survey tool that will guide you through all the things to consider. Once you’ve had time to explore options, contact us for more information, to get your questions answered, to come for a tour, and explore a clinical assessment that’ll ensure you’re in the right place.  

One thing we know for sure is that moving proactively when you have the time to make the decision is the very best choice. Sometimes, life throws you curveballs and you don’t know or need assisted living until that time. However, some of our best advice is to tour, consider, and join a waiting list or make the move before “you need to” – so you can maximize life to the fullest!  
 

Misconception #3: Assisted living is gloomy and institutional.  
Truth: Assisted living communities prioritize being comfortable, positive, and inviting. 

In this case, a photo is worth 1,000 words. If you looked up the definition of bright, airy, inspiring, and comfortable… you might just see Three Pillars’ assisted living communities pictured there!  
 

While it’s true there are some assisted livings that don’t look just like this, you can be sure any community aiming to enhance people’s lives by offering assistance in their daily life will prioritize having clean, comfortable, inviting spaces.  

If you haven’t been out yet to visit Three Pillars in Dousman and see for yourself how stunning our assisted living communities are, we invite you to schedule a tour. 
 
Misconception #4: Assisted Living is very expensive. 
Truth: Countless people see assisted living as the “all inclusive resort” where ONE monthly payment saves not only dollars, but time and stress. 

Housing payments are one of the largest expenses we all have. Once someone needs additional care or support, number crunching must be part of the equation. 
 

Living at home, you could endure these expenses of your time and dollars:

Or these:

Determine the best plan for in-home care:  – Check with friends and family if anyone has experience or could come together to create a schedule. – Consider hiring individual caregivers, search for qualified individuals, interview candidates, and complete background checks. – Research caregiving companies who manage their own caregivers and have a different price point. – Assess needs to the best of your ability and hope you schedule the right amount of care. Hire and pay for in-home care:  – Piece together a daily/weekly schedule that works for the 1, 2, 3, or more people you hire. – Facilitate substitute coverage for holidays or if they call in sick. – Pay daily, weekly, or monthly. – Coordinate care and services with physicians and specialists by talking to each of them, asking questions, requesting printouts, trying to tell one nurse what the other said, and remembering what it all means for what you do daily.  – Manage and purchase medications, including pharmacy runs, refills, and administration.  Maintain house payments or rent, as well as:  – Landscaping/lawn care and snow removal  – Cable / internet  – Electric / gas / utilities  – Property taxes  – Home maintenance and upkeep  Maintain a budget for additional important services such as:   – Entertainment and socialization events  – Transportation  – Groceries, meal prep assistance, eating out/ordering in, and/or meal delivery

– Potential assisted living clinical assessment fee   – Refundable security deposit   – Assisted living monthly rent – where care is included

Misconception #5: Assisted living will make me or my loved one feel sad or guilty. 
Truth: Assisted living will make you or your loved ones feel at ease, supported, and catered to, while giving time back to enjoy life and togetherness. 

This one doesn’t take much explaining: we can personally attest to seeing thousands of people absolutely thriving and living their best life at assisted living, while their loved ones feel the most comforting peace of mind knowing they can be loved ones again (and not caregivers.) 

It’s certainly understandable to be concerned about the emotions that may come with moving to assisted living, and everyone is different. That said, we hear over and over how happy our residents and their families are that they made the decision to move to assisted living. We encourage you to join them and experience that unmatched peace of mind.  

Learn more on our website and contact us to schedule your personal tour of Three Pillars’ assisted livings!