Specialized Moving Services Ease Transitions to Senior Living Communities
When an elderly parent transitions from their home to assisted living, independent living, a nursing home or a relative’s home, it can be a stressful experience. Mary Jo Zeller, a senior move manager at Gero Solutions in Chicago, says this move is a major life event. “It’s as monumental as getting married or having a baby, but emotionally, it is more akin to grieving a loss.”
In addition to difficult emotions, the senior and their family members face a whole host of challenges. What can they bring to their new home? What do they leave behind? What happens to belongings they can’t bring? How should they prepare?
Senior move managers can help the entire family work through these questions and handle all details associated with planning and implementing the move.
A Caregiver’s Experience
Moving my parents and my in-laws into senior living and cleaning out their respective apartments was a serious challenge. I hate to think how much more difficult it would have been if they hadn’t downsized from larger family homes to more reasonably sized apartments years before any of them needed nursing home care.
They had already weeded out many of their belongings in the first move, but there was still so much to be done. Each of my loved ones made their last moves to a nursing home, which meant there was very limited space for furniture. We donated good furnishings to charity, because we didn’t have the time and emotional energy to go through an auction. As a family, we took home more items than we should have, simply because no one wanted to see the things go. Such is the nature of emotional moving.
What Do Senior Move Managers Do?
Senior move managers specialize in organizing, downsizing and packing up an elder’s current residence and helping set up their new home. Relocating is a multi-faceted and emotional process, and these professionals are trained to help elders and their family…
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