Oklahoma Assisted Living

In Oklahoma, the number of assisted living facilities is small, and that means the number of Catholic assisted living facilities is also small. There are some though and they are very well rated so for faithful seniors in Oklahoma, there are Catholic retirement communities that provide seniors with a truly holistic approach to senior care.

Cost of Catholic Assisted Living in Oklahoma

Catholic assisted living facilities in Oklahoma are relatively inexpensive, compared to the national average for these care centers. The average monthly rate is a bit more than $3,500, compared to a national average of $4,000. With the exception of Tulsa, OK, every city in this state comes in under the national average. Tulsa, OK is just $4,370 on average so even this city isn’t too far off the mark.

Catholic Assisted Living Communities in Oklahoma - Amenities

Catholic assisted living in Oklahoma is a bit of a mixed bag. There are some traditional Catholic assisted living facilities, like Saint Katherine Drexel, but even here, they welcome everyone. Then there is the St. Ann’s Home, where the Catholic faith is very much front and center. Finally, there are centers like Grand Tapestry, that makes no claims about faith but does offer televised Eucharistic mass so residents can attend without having to brave the weather.

This mix will make it a bit tough to find a purely Catholic assisted living facility in Oklahoma but it certainly isn’t impossible. But it may mean that seniors will have to accept an environment that isn’t purely Catholic, which really shouldn’t be a problem given that our Catholic faith welcomes all others that worship God.

It is also possible that we have not been able to fully uncover every Catholic assisted living facility Oklahoma has to offer.

Catholic Retirement Communities - Religious Amenities

Any faithful senior coming to an assisted living facility, Catholic or otherwise, will have developed a strong bond with their local church and parish community. They will be reasonably concerned about breaking those bonds when they head into an assisted living facility, especially if that facility isn’t focused on that faith.

Assisted living centers will understand how important these bonds are in maintaining the spiritual health of their residents and will make significant efforts to help these seniors maintain those connections. This will be easier if the home is close to the parish church so the first thing seniors should consider is location. Even if the assisted living center isn’t focused on the faith, seniors can still be based by just maintaining their link to the parish they love.

When a senior comes from a different parish, assisted living facilities can and will help them become involved in another parish that is closer and more easily accessible.  That will still require a bit of an adjustment but it shouldn’t take very long for seniors to build new bonds that nurture their faith in God.

Finally, look for an assisted living facility that has Catholic faith groups already in place in the center or will be willing to help put one together. Faith can be practiced anywhere and everywhere, so seniors can take control and build their own committed community of fellow worshipers.

Whether a Catholic assisted living facility or not, the staff is the most important amenity these centers have to offer. That includes everyone, not just caregivers and medical staff. The dining team, maintenance staff and groundskeepers all play an important role in creating a peaceful environment where faith can flourish. This is especially true when the ALF staff shares a strong faith in God, whether that faith is Catholic or not.

Seniors should also look for an assisted living facility that has already shown a willingness to bring faith in, and this most true for centers that are not specifically Catholic assisted living facilities. This can be done in many ways, but most often, it would be through bible studies and other educational opportunity that they would be adding to their monthly calendar of events.

Catholic Retirement Communities in Oklahoma - General Amenities

How seniors age is dependent on each senior’s mental outlook. If they are able to maintain a positive outlook in the face of mounting age-related challenges, aging can be gracefully active. The challenges are little more than annoyances that can be dealt with. For those that allow those challenges to sour their outlook on life, age becomes a downward spiral of ever-worsening, and eventually debilitating illnesses that sap any quality of life they might have enjoyed.

Assisted living facilities and their Assisted Daily Living care programs are designed to help seniors deal with the challenges of aging without becoming overwhelmed by them. It gets easy when seniors have someone to help them bathe, dress, groom and comfortably use the toilet. That alone can go a long way toward meeting the challenges of aging. Add assistance with eating and moving around the facility and beyond and no seniors are relatively unhindered and can focus on enjoying life.

It will be tougher for those with memory related illnesses like Alzheimer’s and other dementias, but even these seniors have hope through memory care. Assisted living facilities provide specially monitored spaces for these patients so the risk of getting lost is minimized. They then provide therapies, like music and pet therapy that helps to stimulate memory retention while working to tap down negative emotions that can lead to violent outbursts.

Seniors with more serious health conditions that require more medical attention may consider Catholic nursing homes in Oklahoma. High level of medical care combined with spiritual care offer faith based nursing home residents a more comfortable life.

For all residents, mealtime is always fun.  They enjoy culinary treats at breakfast, lunch and dinner, that are selected from interesting menus and are professionally prepared. The dishes and delicious while also being nutritionally balanced. They are served in restaurant-style dining rooms where seniors can join with friends and have some fun while they’re enjoying their meals.

Active seniors are healthier seniors. That is a proven fact and one that assisted living facilities take very seriously. Each has a community leader that is responsible for developing a wide range of activities that will offer something for everyone so boredom never gets the chance to infect the active lifestyle of the residents. They often include arts and crafts, fitness activities, brain exercises, games, social events and a mix of indoor and outdoor activities. Some centers also offering woodworking shops and pet play areas.

Everyone needs some privacy sometimes and for those times, seniors will have a private or semi-private apartment to settle into. Semi-private suites normally accommodate 2 to 4 seniors. For complete privacy they then offer studios units and one-bedroom apartments. There are some assisted living centers that have companion suites as well where there are two bedrooms joined by a common living space and kitchenette.

Catholic assisted living in Oklahoma may be a bit tough to find and it may not be purely Catholic but still, there are some excellent choices, all across the state of Oklahoma.