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If you’re looking for a comfortable, vibrant retirement community, you should consider cost, amenities, quality of care, and reputation. If you can, ask friends and family members for their insights. Many retirees searching for assisted living in Florida also use sources like Yelp and Medicare for ratings and reviews.

You’re off to a great start if you are already doing these things to find the ideal community for yourself or a loved one. Your diligence will help you find the perfect place to live. However, there is one detail that many people never consider. Before you finalize your choice of Florida assisted living facilities, ask about their Fitch Rating.

What Is a Fitch Rating?

Fitch Rating is an American credit scoring company that assigns ratings to various institutions in multiple sectors, including active living communities. These ratings measure a company’s economic stability, creditworthiness, and other factors relating to financial health. 

Why should you care about this? Fitch Rating is one of the “Big Three credit rating agencies in the United States. It’s also one of only three organizations recognized nationally for its statistical ratings, and it will help you determine whether a living facility will or will not meet the financial commitments it makes in your contract.

Why Does Fitch Rating Matter When Choosing Assisted Living in Florida?

Anyone looking into Florida Independent nursing facilities should be concerned about creditworthiness. The Fitch Rating is one of the best measures of this. 

While each assisted living community operates under its own standards, most require a significant financial investment from residents. This often comes in the form of an entrance fee and an additional monthly service fee. 

The entrance fee guarantees a spot in the community and access to additional levels of care as needed. The monthly service fee covers a range of amenities. These costs can vary widely depending on the contract chosen. However, many retirees will spend a significant portion of their savings and monthly income on these costs. When you choose a community like Westminster with a high credit rating, you can feel confident that your investment will be well-spent.

The Benefits of a Retirement Community with Great Credit

When you choose a retirement community that is financially healthy with an excellent credit rating, you are more likely to experience:

• Excellent food and amenities
• Great staff to resident ratio
• Low staff turnover
• Assurance of lifelong stability
• Excellent response to maintenance needs
• The care you need at every stage of life

Most importantly, you will know that your retirement community has the financial resources and creditworthiness to meet its financial obligations in any situation. 

As we have seen over the past several years, crises can have devastating impacts on retirement communities. Sadly, the pandemic has led to many communities going bankrupt. Even before that, natural disasters and economic downturns have had similarly tragic results.

Final Thoughts

Please do your research before you invest a significant portion of your retirement savings and income into a retirement community. A community’s Fitch Rating is indeed an indicator of their ability to provide you with the care and amenities you need. It’s something you should take into consideration with other ratings and reviews.

If your loved one is looking for an independent living facility, there are a number of retirement communities in Florida that you can look into. After finding the right one for your loved one, you may worry about how the move may impact them. Many seniors often go through a transition period where they leave behind their old home for a new life. That can be rough, but fortunately, there are steps you can take to help them feel less homesick, and more at home. Here are a few tips to help your loved one feel right at home when transitioning into retirement living communities. 

Prepare a Few of Your Loved Ones Favorite Meals

One of the ways that you can help a loved one to feel right at home as they transition into Florida independent living is to prepare a few of their favorite meals and deliver them to them. Another option is to make a batch of their meals and freeze them so they have a freezer full of food ready to go. Having familiar home cooked meals can give your loved one something familiar and comforting, while also freeing up some of their time so that they can go meet their neighbors and get acquainted with the community, rather than cooking their meals. 

Make Sure Your Loved One Knows Where Everything They Need Is

Another way that you can help your loved ones not feel so homesick when they move to a retirement community is to ensure they know where everything they need is. You can feel really homesick if you can’t find your favorite shows on television or you do not know where the nearest grocery store is. Take the time to leave your loved one a list of the television channels they will need, a list of phone numbers for their friends and relatives, and show them how to get to the nearest drug store and grocery store. 

Be Sure to Visit Your Loved One Often 

The final way to ensure your loved one feels less homesick and more at home is to visit your loved one often. Being able to see their family often can help your loved ones continue to feel loved and give them a sense of familiarity in a new setting. If possible, try to rotate visits with family and friends to ensure your loved one has a lot of visitors and plenty of support as they start this new chapter of their life. 

Learn More About Retirement Communities

Starting a new chapter in life can be a little bit scary as you leave your old life behind, but it can also be exciting, as there are many new possibilities that await you. Helping your loved ones prepare for independent living facilities and then helping them with the transition helps to ensure they feel less homesick and more at home in their new living situation. If you are looking for a Florida retirement community for your loved one, contact us at Westminster Communities of Florida to learn more about our many communities!

For medical professionals, the comprehensive list of terms surrounding senior health care becomes second nature to use over time. For adult children and a concerned public, this assisted living jargon may be confusing and lead to more questions than answers. Assisted living experts in Florida want you to know more about some of the common jargon associated with Florida assisted living facilities.

Accreditation

If you’re seeking services in Florida assisted living facilities, then you should know how qualified the service provider is since your loved ones will require assistance. Accreditation refers to the process by which a service is typically self-evaluated, then peer-reviewed by an agency or association to determine its credibility and ability to meet quality standards. Always double-check a program’s accreditation to ensure your loved ones get the best care possible, especially when you’re looking into Florida assisted living facilities.

Activities of Daily Living

These include showering, bathing, eating, and medication administration. These are daily activities of self-care that are intended to keep your family members healthy. Your loved ones will continue striving to care for themselves every day while living in Florida assisted living facilities. If your loved one is in memory care or requires close health monitoring, the public should know that special care and training are involved so that these needs are met.

Aging in Place

Despite physical or mental handicap, in some cases, a senior citizen may retain the right to continue living under their own care, even though others may not recommend so. When a loved one chooses to age in place, this may be hard on family members. However, adult children may find it useful to communicate with their loved ones regarding this process before getting too involved at once.

The Administration on Aging

This organization is meant to protect the rights of the elderly while providing them with educational resources and other helpful services. Families should keep this organization in mind as they’re going through the process of referring someone to assisted living. Many of memory care services are important to know in particular.

These are four specific terms that you’ll hear during your discussions surroundings senior care. They may sound like confusing buzzwords but in reality, you’ll want to know more about the organizations and phrases associated with the senior care industry.

Florida assisted living facilities connect people to services, amenities, and health monitoring. In a Florida-based life plan community, these are just a few reasons that support older adults’ decision to check into assisted living.

Health Monitoring and Continued Education

Education and health are essential to assisted living. However, senior citizens may need ongoing monitoring and health care. Because aging can feel lonely, there is a need to continue learning. Trained staff and excellent resources deliver quality health services and continued education.

Food and Solitude

Unfortunately, advanced age often brings the challenge of caring for oneself. This is one reason why senior citizens may choose assisted living: they want the peace of mind of knowing they’ll have access to quality dining room meals and some time to be alone with either themselves or family, whenever they so choose.

Retirement, Friendship, and Connections

Some senior citizens who retire get to enjoy comfort and family time. Retirement can be more beneficial when choosing an assisted living program. Support staff may praise residents for the work they’ve done. Retirement isn’t simple, which is why assisted living facilities in Florida are so important.

With many residents on-site, some senior citizens may explore romantic opportunities. Likewise, friendship opportunities abound. With community events, attractive dining opportunities, and a chance to get in a pool with a nice view, older adults have plenty of chances to make friends.

Comfort, Convenience, and Amenities

Florida assisted living programs are designed to make it easier for older adults to get medical care while also being able to relax in the comfort of their homes. Libraries, tennis courts, and fitness centers are designed for easy access, and transportation to and from appointments is made possible thanks to assisted living program services.

Florida assisted living facilities offer comfort, convenience, and access to helpful resources. When it’s time for your loved ones to choose assisted living, you shouldn’t be surprised, because there are reasons older adults reach this decision. Whatever the reason, Florida assisted living programs offer senior citizens what they need to stay healthy and comfortable for the rest of their lives.

Westminster Communities Of Florida Wins Gold, 5 Awards in 2021 National Mature Media Awards

Westminster Communities of Florida was a winner in the 30th Annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearing-house for the senior market, recognizes the nation’s finest marketing, communications, educational materials, and programs designed and produced for older adults.

The organization was pleased to receive a Gold Award for its “Westminster Sings What The World Needs Now (Is Love)” social media campaign, in the category of Social Media. This video, which featured nearly 50 residents and team members representing our 22 communities, is a heart-warming antidote to the hardest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The video is still available on Westminster’s YouTube channel for viewers to enjoy — go to https://youtu.be/8FhSpfMu_QI.

In addition, Westminster Communities of Florida was recognized with awards for: 

• The rebrand of the Westminster Communities Foundation, which received a Bronze Award in the category of Marketing and Advertising Campaigns. This campaign of brochures, flyers, personalized donor cultivation materials, recognition gifts and more has contributed to the successful launch of a major new campaign focused on donor recruitment for our charitable foundation. We congratulate the Westminster Communities Foundation team.
• A campaign offering advice to our team members who graduated high school and college, “Seniors 2 Seniors,” was recognized with a Bronze Award in the category of Social Media. We asked residents what advice they might give, and then captured them offering it and shared it on social media, as well as our internal CCTV systems. Enjoy the video and get their advice on Westminster’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/d4fzkMIP8Io
  
• To help provide the most up-to-date information on the COVID-19 pandemic to our residents and their family members, we created a special “Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources” online guide. These web pages contained a variety of information about how residents and their families could stay safe, support each other and our communities, and even a fun kids’ activity pack for summer, when camps and day cares were closed. The COVID-19 guide was recognized with a Bronze Award in the category of Web-based Resource/Tool. These resources are still available and up-to-date at https://westminstercommunitiesfl.org/coronavirus-news-and-resources
• Our “Thank You Team Members” campaign, celebrating our team members for their heroic work of caring for vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, received a Merit Award in the category of Marketing and Advertising Campaigns. It consisted of a campaign of signs, banners, recognition gifts, online graphics, social media posts and more. We congratulate our Human Resources and Creative teams for their work on the campaign

Those involved with the art direction, design and copywriting for the campaigns were Nicole Muller, Vice President of Sales and Marketing; Wes Meltzer, Director of Marketing and Communications; Katherine Peters, Director of Sales, Chris Ware, Creative Services Coordinator; Natalie Rooney, Creative Design Specialist; and Sydney March, Social Media Specialist.

“We were delighted and honored to have been selected for these awards,” Meltzer said. “Our Creative Team does amazing work. The recognition of the Mature Media Awards just confirms it for us. Westminster Communities of Florida was pleased to take part in the 30th anniversary of the Mature Media Awards program, and very happy with the results.”

The entries were judged by a distinguished panel of mature market experts from across the United States for overall excellence of design, content, creativity and relevance to the senior market.

About Westminster Communities of Florida: Westminster Communities of Florida serves more than 7,000 residents in 22 communities throughout Florida who are in search of an enlightened, fully integrated, person-centered approach to health and wellness. Since 1954, we’ve been Florida’s best choice in active senior living. Find out more about how you can Live Well. Be Happy. at a Westminster community – visit our Web site at www.WestminsterCommunitiesFL.org or call 407-839-5050.

Meditation keeps our thoughts relaxed and engaged, allowing us to age gracefully. Meditation can provide these unexpected health benefits by infusing awareness into a senior’s mind, body, and soul at Florida assisted living facilities. Learn these 4 reasons to integrate meditation into your assisted living or independent living lifestyle.  

Heightened Attention Span at Assisted Living Florida

Meditation activities at assisted living facilities that are focused can improve the strength and endurance of your attention span. Meditation can prevent age-related mental impairments, according to a 2017 study published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement. 

The study revealed that the training endured by participants improved their emotional well-being and helped them perform better on activities requiring focus and attention. Assisted living Florida facilities take these findings to heart.

Meditation Relieves Anxiety and Stress

One of the most well-known benefits of meditation is the reduction of stress and anxiety. Assisted living Florida notes that, according to a 2016 survey, 21.6 percent of adults begin meditating to relieve stress, while 29.2 percent reduce anxiety.

During meditation, you may focus your mind on removing ideas that are stressful to your emotional health to help you handle any stress-related illnesses at assisted living FL.

Assisted Living Practices Meditation for Pain Relief

Because your physical sense of pain is related to your mind, it might be amplified when you’re stressed. It’s a terrific technique to manage discomfort. When you meditate in assisted living facilities, your body becomes aligned with neural system rhythms by taking a breath up to six times each minute.

Assisted Living Meditation Reduces Memory Loss Risk

Experts proved that meditation reduces the symptoms of memory loss, and every assisted living facility in Florida acknowledges this. Meditation has been shown to raise telomerase, an enzyme needed to slow the progression of disorders like Alzheimer’s, by 43 percent. 

Furthermore, studies discovered that those who meditate regularly can tap into the strength or emotion of their subconscious mind, allowing their brain to retain more information, something which is practiced at assisted living in Florida.