What is a Boutique Residential Assisted Living Home?
Well…great question! It’s one that we get asked all the time and we are excited every time we get to share how this senior living model differs from traditional options and why believe the Memphis senior housing market needs this model!
There are many different names for these types of homes, but the short answer is that a boutique-style residential living home is a smaller home - typically 6-12 residents - that offers the same key amenities and care of the larger, institutional assisted living facilities.
Depending on where you are in the United States, you may hear these types of homes referred to as residential assisted living (RAL) homes, personal care homes, homes for the aged, boutique senior living or many other similar names. Even in Memphis the naming conventions can be confusing. The Tennessee Department of Health’s designation is a Home for the Aged and Shelby County’s designation is a Personal Care Home for the Elderly. We get why there is so much confusion and we try to explain it in the simplest terms possible.
Let’s get back to the definition of what we are though. Great Southern’s model is to offer almost all of the amenities and care that you would expect at a large facility, but instead offer it in smaller residential homes that have been renovated or built specifically to accommodate the needs of the seniors we serve. We go to great lengths to make sure the home actually feels like a home - not an institution. That means high end finishes, family style dining tables, comfy couches, cozy bedrooms and personal touches. It also means that our homes have ramps to navigate a few steps, grab bars to provide safety in the bathrooms, wide hallways and doorways to allow room for walkers and wheelchairs and so many small details just for seniors.
However, the boutique senior living (or residential assisted living) model goes beyond just what the house looks like. Above all, we pride ourselves on the care we are able to offer to your parent or loved one. Instead of being in a large facility where the resident to caregiver ratio may be high, we are able to keep that ratio to around 5-6 residents for every caregiver. Compare that to 25-35 residents to 1 caregiver at some facilities and you’ll quickly see why we are able to take such good care of our residents. It also means that we get to know them like family and can better cater to their preferences.
When we talk about care, you may hear a lot about activities of daily living. Those activities are bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting and eating. Great Southern’s expert caregivers make sure that each of our residents have all the help they need with these activities. We also go beyond just helping them. We make sure to take the stress out of daily living so they can do the things that make them happy. When your loved one lives in one of our homes all cooking, cleaning, laundry and entertainment are provided for them so they don’t have to think about it.
Last, and certainly not least, the smaller senior housing model emphasizes safety in a way that few other options can match. Our homes are monitored 24/7 by fire alarm and camera systems, protected by fire sprinklers, and designed to allow residents to never worry about their safety. The small size of our communities also allows us to implement protections quickly and effectively.
We believe in the quality of life that can be provided for our residents through this model and we hope that you can see it for yourself. This is a mission for the Great Southern team and we can’t wait to show it to you.