Couples who move to a senior living community expect to continue living together. But if they need different levels of care, they often wonder how that could impact their situation. Not understanding how communities provide assisted living for couples with different care needs can stop many families from having the conversation and making the move.
The guide below explains how assisted living works for couples, including what happens when one spouse’s care needs change more than the other. In a combined community like Shawano Place, which offers assisted living and memory care on one campus, the team can customize each plan for the couple’s needs, helping families stay close without giving up support.
Assisted Living for Couples at One Community
Assisted living provides customizable daily support for personal care tasks in a private apartment setting. Services include help with bathing, eating, walking, grooming, dressing, and taking medications. Residents also enjoy community amenities, which at Shawano Place include:
- Three meals per day, plus nutritious snacks
- Intellectual, social, and religious programming
- On-site physical, occupational, and speech therapy
- 24-hour on-site emergency response
- Weekly housekeeping and laundry
- Full-time licensed nurse
- Coordination with healthcare providers
- Full events calendar
Many families worry that their parents will pay for community amenities, move in, and then not be able to enjoy them. At Shawano Place, even when one spouse needs memory care or simply needs more help with daily tasks in assisted living, both of them have the option of using the services they can each still enjoy.
Coordinated Care for Each Spouse
At Shawano Place, care plans are individualized. This means the team plans care around each resident’s preferences and needs, including their desire to continue enjoying services and living with their spouse.
For example, if only one spouse needs help managing their medications, the other can manage theirs on their own while the team supports the spouse who needs help. One spouse could walk on their own while the other receives assistance. The team coordinates care to make sure each spouse gets the amount of daily assistance they need without accepting unnecessary help due to their spouse’s needs.
Key Takeaway
At Shawano Place, each spouse has their own care plan, even when they share an apartment. Each resident’s care routine is guided by their personalized needs.
How Memory Care Works for One Spouse
Memory care offers specialized support in a separate neighborhood. When one spouse needs memory care because of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, the memory care neighborhood can provide a calmer environment with dedicated programming led by team members trained to care for residents living with memory loss.
With both lifestyles on one campus, a spouse in assisted living can visit their loved one in memory care and enjoy a new version of their preferred routine. Their personal care can continue while their spouse lives in a secure setting designed for their physical and emotional comfort. This separation can require an emotional adjustment, but in a combined community, couples can remain close even as one spouse’s needs change.
Having memory care on the same campus as assisted living can help families plan their loved one’s care options when a spouse has dementia and the other can still live mostly on their own. Rather than coordinating visits with two separate communities, they have one community to visit and one team to communicate with.
Making the Transition Easier for Couples and Families
Deciding that one spouse would benefit from memory care while the other should stay in assisted living is a difficult conversation. Many couples haven’t lived apart for years, often decades. Families often feel guilty about encouraging the change, and many couples hesitate to see it as beneficial.
Considering the alternatives may help families decide. Dementia is a progressive condition. As it changes, many people lose their ability to live independently. The possibility of wandering, falling, leaving the stove on, or taking unnecessary risks around the house becomes a more constant worry, both for the family and for the spouse.
Families should also weigh the spouse’s health in their decision. Often, the healthier spouse takes on too many care responsibilities to compensate for their loved one. Couples who take advantage of personalized care across two distinct yet connected community lifestyles can often spend more time together and less time worrying, even though they aren’t sleeping in the same apartment.
Personalized Memory Care and Assisted Living in Shawano, WI
The combined assisted living and memory care community at Shawano Place helps residents with different care needs achieve a sustainable daily routine. In assisted living, each spouse can receive personalized daily care, so neither has to go without care or pay for assistance they don’t need. If one spouse needs memory care, they can move to the secure neighborhood while the other spouse remains close by.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many couples share an assisted living apartment when both partners need a similar level of support. Each spouse follows their own individualized care schedule. For example, if only one spouse needs help with dressing, the other can continue independently.
Memory care at Shawano Place provides planned programming for residents living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Residents live in a calm and secure setting with team members who are specially trained in memory care.
At a community with both care types, the spouse who needs memory care can receive it nearby while the other partner remains in assisted living. This allows them to continue sharing meals and spending their days together while the spouse with memory loss receives personalized support in a secure setting.
Shawano Place provides both assisted living and memory care within the same community in Shawano, WI. Couples with different needs can stay close while each gets the right level of support.
Final Thoughts on Assisted Living for Couples
Spouses with different care needs may need to adapt their daily routine, but a combined community that offers both assisted living and memory care can provide individualized support for each of your parents while they remain an important part of each other’s daily life.
At Shawano Place in Shawano, Wisconsin, families can rest easy knowing that their loved ones can customize their support while staying connected.
Learn More About Shawano Place
If your parents have different care needs, a team that offers multiple care styles can help couples personalize their daily care while they live in the same apartment or community. Schedule a visit at Shawano Place to see how couples can combine assisted living and memory care in one setting.
This article should not replace medical advice. Talk with your loved one’s doctor regarding any issues you may experience, especially if you suspect memory loss, Alzheimer’s, or other forms of dementia.
