87 Year-Old Female Downsizing to Independent Living

Mrs. F was an 87 year-old woman who recently lost her husband. They lived in a large condominium in Portland. Mrs. F realized that the condo was too large for her by herself, and she did not want to continue living there alone. She didn’t want to deal with the maintenance, nor have to cook all her meals and clean her apartment. She wanted the social activities, meals, and housekeeping that come with an independent living community

Mrs. F was referred to us by a mortgage broker who had worked with her several years previously, and they had remained good friends. We met with Mrs. F to determine what she was looking for in her new home. She had already made a list of exactly what she wanted: a studio or 1 bedroom apartment, ability to make her own breakfast, a Catholic church nearby, assisted living nearby or on the same campus, and a smaller community. She had a preference in mind of where in the Portland area she wanted to live, and she was working with a fairly tight budget.

95 Year-Old with Alzheimer’s to Adult Foster Home

Mrs. M is a 95 year-old woman who was living in an independent living retirement community in Tigard, Oregon. She has Alzheimer’s disease and, other than occasional assistance from an in-home care agency, she was not taking care of her personal hygiene needs on a consistent basis. Because she was living in an independent living community, which does not employ caregiving staff, her medication was not being administered to her, and therefore she was taking it on an irregular basis. She was also becoming reclusive in her apartment and not participating in social activities or even mealtimes in the community dining room…

Mrs. M’s family lived close by and would assist her as much as possible, and take her to church on Sundays. However, her adult children are sons, and they felt uncomfortable with helping Mrs. M with her showering needs. As time progressed and it became clear that Mrs. M was having more and more difficulty in caring for herself, and also because of her reclusiveness, they contacted our agency for help in finding placement.