Touring Your Way in Senior Living Today

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When it comes to healthy aging, quite honestly, there’s a lot to do. You’re supposed to make sure to keep your body active and your brain engaged all while maintaining your social connections as well. Sure, the benefits to your overall well-being are worth the effort, but retirement is supposed to be a time with less responsibility on your plate, right? Well, it turns out that in senior living you can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. Here’s how programs like our Vivid Life make keeping active, engaged, and connected easy and fun! 

Benefits of Healthy Aging 

Good things happen when you focus on healthy aging. In addition to feeling better overall, which in and of itself is a win, other benefits of keeping active, engaged, and connected include:  

  • Improved ability to do everyday things ​ 
  • Reduced impact of illness and chronic disease​ 
  • Enhanced mobility, flexibility, and balance
  • Improved sleep
  • Increased energy level
  • Reduced feelings of depression and stress
  • Increased feelings of happiness and self-confidence
  • Reduced risk of cognitive decline 
  • Increased mental adaptability and cognitive reserve 
  • Improved memory recall and problem-solving skills 
  • Improved concentration and attention to detail  

How Senior Living Can Help 

At home, particularly when living alone, it can be hard to stay as active, engaged, and connected as you’d like. From lack of opportunity to lack of motivation to lack of transportation to mobility challenges, and more, it’s tough, we get it! That’s why we created the Vivid Life program in our senior living communities. It’s composed of three parts: Vibrant Body, Vibrant Brain, and Vibrant Connections. Here’s what each entails:  

Vibrant Body We offer amenities such as a state-of-the-art fitness center, a pool, walking trails, gardening opportunities, and even a dog park to help you stay active. A sample of activities includes:  

  • Walking club – Daily walks at different outdoor locations using pedometers to measure steps. 
  • Yoga – At least once per week for gentle yoga, and once per week for mindful breathing. 
  • Fitness classes – At least two times per week using a variety of hand weights, resistance bands, and circuit-type exercises. 
  • Tai Chi – At least once per week with a live instructor. 
  • Non-traditional exercise – Dancing, gardening, etc. at least two times per week. 
  • Physical games and sports – Golf, putting, bowling, croquet, bocce, and ping pong available daily with organized events one to two times per week. 

Vibrant Brain We offer monthly calendars filled with classes, events, creative arts, and enrichment opportunities to help keep you engaged. A sample of activities includes: 

  • Visiting lecture series – Twice per month with topics such as cultural, historical, local interest, career-oriented, etc. 
  • Creative art series – At least one per week with a theme that runs 3-6 weeks, such as poetry writing, storytelling, painting, digital photography, etc. 
  • Learning series – At least three times per month with an emphasis on learning something new such as foreign language, sign language, technology, hobbies, etc. 
  • Games – At least one time per week and may include poker, bridge, Scrabble, etc. 
  • Mindfulness – A meditation class once per week and gratitude discussion group twice monthly. 
  • Church service – At least once a week through visits by local churches. 
  • Stress reduction – At least once per month class that offers deep breathing exercises, nature walks, music appreciation, spa-type treatments, etc. 

 Vibrant Connections We offer resident-led clubs, social events, outings and volunteer opportunities for any interest to help you stay connected. A sample of activities includes: 

  • Outings – At least twice per month and may include going to concerts, art shows, museum visits, theatre productions, etc. 
  • Intergenerational programming – At least once per month and focuses on building relationships between young adults/children and residents. 
  • New resident welcome party – At least once per month to formally introduce all new residents, and includes ice breakers, social games, etc. to encourage connection. 
  • Philanthropic program – At least once per month provide residents the opportunity to give back to the community, such as volunteering for a local food bank or pet shelter. 
  • Resident-led clubs – May include game clubs, professional clubs, common interests, etc. that meet at least monthly.  

What’s more, it’s all right outside your door (or transportation is provided offsite) and all in a supportive environment with home maintenance, housekeeping, and restaurant-style dining freeing your time to make it even easier to stay active, engaged, and connected. 

Learn more about Vitality Living’s Vivid Life programs. Or find a Vitality Living community near you today to schedule a tour. 

blog-family-decision-guide

 

Because of the pandemic, it is very important for our older loved ones to stay at home and keep safe. But when the time comes for them to choose a senior living community, how will they be able to choose if they aren’t allowed to visit and take a look at their future home? Luckily, you can easily take a tour of any Vitality Living community you wish without having to leave the safety of your home.

Choosing the right senior living community

 

Different ways to tour

 

Because more and more senior living communities see the power of the Internet, along with the competition for new residents, they have invested in various equipment, methods, and experience to create their own virtual tours, both recorded and live. So if you can’t visit the actual location, here are a few options for touring a senior living community you’re interested in:

Recorded video tours
The best way to explore a senior living community isn’t done through static photos but rather using vibrant pre-recorded videos that show just how lively the community is. A video offers an interactive way to give a tour to future residents, while it also gives you a sense of being right there in the moment. Video tours also have an honesty to them because they take you through the community, allowing you to see everything just as it is. 

Slideshow tours
One of the simpler ways of presenting a community’s highlights is through a slideshow tour. Communities can build slide shows for their website that show the viewers many pictures that highlight some of the community’s best amenities, programs, various activities, and information on their staff. Furthermore, many slide shows contain extra information that can give you a brief breakdown of the community you’re considering. 

360-degree tours
These kinds of recorded video tours allow you to inspect the surroundings carefully, providing you with a truly immersive way to tour a senior living community with the control of your movements within your fingertips. Taking a 360-degree virtual tour will allow you to check rooms, explore whole apartments, take a look at common spaces, and see everything as if you were there in person. In a nutshell, these are a more comprehensive way to tour a community compared to a live video tour.

Personalized Zoom and Facetime tours
If you want a bit more of a personal touch and to have someone answer your questions during the tour, a personalized Zoom or Facetime tour is a great way to do that. Through a tablet or smartphone on both ends, you will be taken on a virtual tour of the community, its amenities, and even the residents and staff.

No one wants to go out and waste time, money, and effort to do something that can be done from the comfort and safety of our home, so why should it be any different for touring your options in senior living communities? With just a few clicks of a button, you can get in and out of communities that you wish to inspect. So what are you waiting for? Get started with a tour today, starting with visiting Vitality Living’s website to learn more about their locations, living options, and more. And be sure to download the informative Vitality Living guide Choosing The Right Senior Living Community.

 

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