Arkansas Catholic Assisted Living

Catholic assisted living facilities in Arkansas are spread across the state and most, if not all, are very closely connected with their nearby parish church and the Diocese, as is the case with the 24 assisted living facilities offered by Christopher Homes, Inc. St. Bernard’s, out of Jonesboro is another, with 3 assisted living centers that is part of the Benedictine’s. There are other Catholic retirement communities of course, but these two groups help to highlight the many amenities that are both common and unique in Catholic assisted living facilities and those that are secular or focused on other faiths.

Cost of Catholic Assisted Living in Arkansas

Monthly rates for assisted living facilities in Arkansas run from well below to right on the national average for these types of facilities and services. Within the state, Pine Bluffs is the least expensive, at an average cost of $2,600 while Fayetteville rises to $4,000 per month. These are base rates to assisted daily living services. Services like memory and other customized care plans will cost more.

Catholic Assisted Living Communities in Arkansas - Amenities

Catholic Assisted living facilities are a breed apart from secular facilities. In secular assisted living facilities, the care teams attend to both the physical and mental health of their residents. They do not concern themselves with the spiritual health of these residents. That isn’t to say they discourage it. They simply don’t make it a focus of the services they offer elderly adults.

Catholic Retirement Communities in Arkansas - Religious Amenities

The problem with this approach, for the truly faithful, is that their Christian beliefs inform just about every aspect of their lives, so when there is no real focus on those beliefs, it creates a void that can have a serious impact on both their physical and mental health. Prayer heals and faith provides a positive impact that bring meaning to their lives.

In a Catholic assisted living facility, seniors will find both focus and solace in an environment where faith is as import to the care team as it is to those receiving that care. This means prayer will be a regular part of each day, starting from the time residents wake and following them throughout the day. In this environment, forgetting to saying Grace before meals simply doesn’t happen. Stop of the Angeles at 6:00 PM might catch the non-faithful by surprise, but it will part of the natural order of things for everyone else.

There will be a regular mass schedule, as well as set times where priest will be available to hear confessions. These homes will also have support from lay ecclesial ministers who can administer communion and anoint the faithful whenever needed. And, Catholic assisted living facilities and their staff and residents will be actively involved in the local church so everyone can feel the power of being part of a faithful congregation.

As part of the effort to support their Catholic residents, numerous activities that are specifically related to faith will be woven into the larger schedule of programs so things like prayer circles, bible study and volunteerism become an integral part of daily life in these assisted living facilities.

When possible, Catholic assisted living facilities will help seniors remain connected with the parish church they have be active in. Entering any assisted living facility can feel disconcerting when connections to normal daily life are broken. By remaining connect to the parish they are coming from these assisted living centers help protect the most important of these bonds.

Catholic Senior Living Communities in Arkansas - Amenities

Every assisted living facility, whether focused on faith or not, must deliver assisted daily living services, (ADL’s). These include assistance with common daily tasks like eating, dress, grooming and bathing. They also include assistance using the toilet and help getting around the facility throughout the day. They will ensure the center is well maintained and kept clean. They will also help keep the private quarter of each resident cleans, ensure lines are regularly changes and even do personal laundry on a consistent schedule.

For seniors dealing with various forms of dementia, like Alzheimer’s disease, memory care is offered and that starts with setting aside a portion of the assisted living facility where security is enhanced, and distractions are minimized. In many of these assisted living facilities, even the dining room will be unique, with fewer things set on the table and where there are lots of bright colors in play that help stimulate appetites, while grabbing attention that helps these elderly adults stay focused on enjoy their meals. Beyond these basic differences, the therapies these patients receive will be unique as they focus on bringing back past memories and help seniors develop new one.

Assisted daily living tasks are those assistance tasks that help seniors deal with the minutia of daily life that used to be easy and is now too challenging to do without some help. These include help with bathing, toileting, grooming, dressing and moving from place to place and from activity to activity, throughout the day. It can also include help eating when limbs become weak and manual dexterity becomes compromised.

These assisted living facilities will feed their residents from a varied menu of great tasting dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and in addition to tasting great, they will also be nutritionally balanced and in tune with each seniors’ dietary requirements. In larger Catholic Assisted Living homes these are commonly prepared by a team of professional manning the kitchen. In smaller assisted living centers, these meals will be home cooked and while the presentation might not be as professional, they will be not any less delicious.

Finally, activities beyond faith play an important role in helping seniors remain physically and mentally healthy and will include fitness programs, arts & crafts programs, music programs, potentially including coral programs, and more. In the larger homes, where a pool is available, fitness with include water-based exercises too.

A careful look at the assisted living facilities that are dotted across the state of Arkansas, spotlight the fact that these are consistently rated among the best in each community, with ratings that of 4+ stars is common. This applies to the larger assisted living facilities. The smaller senior living centers, especially those with less than 10 seniors, are typically unrated, so for seniors looking for a small setting, a visit will be needed to determine what strengths they offer elderly adults.

Arkansas has many faith-based assisted living facilities to consider and there are at least some in just about every city in the state, but for consistently high ratings, the two groups of homes mentioned above are a great place to start looking. Mercy Crest Retirement Living Center is an independent center that is also very well regarded.