Finding the Right Assisted Living Community for Your Loved Ones

August 2, 2021
Hosted by Ron Roel

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Guest Information

Episode Description

As your parents get older, there may come a time when it’s clear they would lead a safer, healthier, and more productive life by transitioning from their current home to an assisted living community. But how do you handle the many issues surrounding such a move? It’s complicated. And emotional. There are lots of choices, and a host of questions. In this episode, Julie Wexler, who has spent more than 25 years in a variety of eldercare settings, walks us through the process — step by step — of finding the right community for your parents. Julie, the Director of Business Development for The Bristal Assisted Living, spells out the spectrum of housing options, describing different kinds of services, care, amenities, and lifestyle features that individual communities may offer. How do you assemble a list of potential places, and are there professionals and other resources to help you assess the best fit for your parents? Then there’s the continuing Covid question: What factors should we consider and what questions should we ask about health and safety protocols when we visit prospective communities? Making the transition to assisted living can often be hard on the entire family, but by being proactive and not waiting for a crisis, the move can offer an exceptionally positive experience, creating a new sense of independence, better health and social engagement for our loved ones. Indeed, Julie believes that all seniors, even as the face the physical challenges of aging, deserve to live a full, active, supportive, and meaningful life.

45 Forward

Monday at 12 Noon Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel

Thanks to advances in medicine and health, most of us are just at half-life when we reach our mid-40s, with many potentially productive years ahead. But there’s no road map to prepare us for this period. That’s where 45 Forward comes in.

My show provides you with strategies to shift the traditional waiting-for-retirement model to a journey of compelling life chapters. Each show tackles an aspect of health, finance, family and friends, housing, work and personal pursuits as part of an integrated plan. Experts discuss topics like revitalizing relationships, creating mini-retirements, managing the maze of technology, finding your next homestead and caring for aging parents.

The show instills confidence, and hopefully some comfort, amid the stresses permeating today’s society. Fear of the future is not knowing how to prepare for it. 45 Forward does not proffer prefabricated answers, but helps you shape your life amid the daily anxieties of our time.

Ron Roel

I’m a veteran journalist who spent a wide-ranging career covering business, politics and social issues, the last two decades focusing on the blend of diverse life skills I call successful aging.

I have written extensively on aging topics, spoken at conferences, radio and TV shows, and launched several entrepreneurial ventures, discovering along the way that the path to aging well also requires an unexpected entrepreneurial vision. I spent 20 years as a writer and editor at Long Island’s daily newspaper, Newsday, helping to found Act 2, a weekly section for 50-plus readers. I created Roelresources.com, a website offering practical advice and inspirational essays for people ages 40 and above. I have been a volunteer and consultant to AARP Long Island, writing articles, advocating for seniors, and developing action plans for the AARP Age-Friendly Communities initiative.

I am active in programs and organizations that support seniors, such as the National Aging In Place Council and the Senior Umbrella Network. I have developed a special expertise in family caregiving, as one of four brothers who took care of their mother for almost 25 years. I regularly collaborate with many professionals who provide services and support for older Americans, and I am completing a book for caregivers on Long Island, “The Caregiving Navigator/How to Plan, What to do, and Where to Turn When Caring for you Aging Loved Ones. And Yourself,” scheduled for publication in early 2021.

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