Alaska Senior Living

Jewish assisted living facilities in Alaska may be difficult to locate, but what Jewish seniors will find are assisted living facilities set within Jewish communities where the faith is well represented within the population of each center. Alaskan Jewish seniors will already know about the communities in Fairbank, Anchorage, Palmer and Juneau. So, while there are no Jewish assisted living facilities in the state, there are Jewish communities in these assisted living centers that will have created their own groups of religious seniors.

The other things we can suggest is to visit the Atria Assisted Living Center in Anchorage. While they are not specifically Jewish, they have proven to be very accommodating to the faithful in each of their communities, so if this community has a fair number of Jews in residence, they will have a number of support service specifically designed for that community.

Cost of Jewish Assisted Living in Alaska

Costs for these Jewish assisted living facilities, or any assisted living facility in Alaska are high. Bottom line is it will cost seniors at least 33% more to live in an assisted living facility in this state than it will in most any other state in the nation. The average cost for assisted living in Alaska is $6,500 per month, compared to a national average of just $4,000 per month. Anchorage is the least expensive city in the state of Alaska, with a monthly average of $6,000. Fairbanks has its thumb on the scale at the opposite end with an average monthly rate that is nearly $7,000 per month.

Amenities in Jewish Assisted Living Communities in Alaska

In many regards, Jews and Christians are very much alike, and one of the ways that is evident is in the way faith becomes an integral part of everyday life. You aren’t just Jewish when the Shabbat candle is lit at Sundown on Friday and extinguished at sundown on Saturday, any more than you are Christian on Sunday mornings during devotional services. In both faith, individuals live their faith as they work to build a personal relationship with God.

As an active faith, there are some things that every faithful senior will need from a Jewish assisted living center that unique and that will paly a critical role in their faithful lives.

Jewish Retirement Communities in Alaska - Religious Amenities

Jewish community centers will have programs that help seniors find great opportunities to follow their faith. Assisted living centers in Alaska, that are set in Jewish communities can reach out to these community centers and help them extend these programs into the assisted living community as well.

One of the most widely recognized practices of Jews around the world is the maintenance of a Kosher diet. This is a standard of food selection and preparation that has a specific set of guidelines that start in the kitchen, with separate kitchens and utensils for the preparation of meat and diary products. It also impacts the items that will be on a Kosher menu. For example, there will be no pork products. Kitchens are inspected by a kosher auditor who will look at all of the ingredients to be used, how the kitchens are organized, and how the culinary staff approach food preparation before giving their stamp (certificate) of approval.

Caregivers are at the very heart of what seniors expect from a Jewish assisted living center, or any assisted living center. They are providing the assistance needed to ensure seniors are able to deal with daily activities while continuing to live actively. The difficulty comes in with the highly personal nature of the care being provided. It is quite embarrassing for some, especially in the early day of transitioning from independent to assisted living. Caregivers that faithfully committed to God’s teaching about compassion, respect, patience and love bring something to this care that naturally breaks down the barriers of embarrassment and that make the care they offer, far more effective.

Jewish Retirement Centers - Amenities

The are basically two types of aging adults. There are those that refuse to “act their age” and those that can’t help but act their age. The first group lives an active, often boisterous, and exciting life while the other group tend to live in quite resignation of an end that is always coming closer. And as the old saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, so the mix of old and not so old seniors in any community will give each community a personality that can be infectious.

The best assisted living facilities work to tilt that personality in favor of those that are committed to living active and fulfilling lives, by helping every senior work past the challenges of aging so they can stay focused on the fun parts of life in retirement. They do this through the application of ADL’s, (assisted Daily Living care), where seniors enjoy direct assistance with daily hygiene tasks as a start. Then they get help dressing and grooming, while also enjoying a helping hand so they can remain confidently mobile. They enjoy medication management and regular health monitoring as well so treatment outcomes are improved and any emerging health issues are identified so, they can be treated early.

Jewish retirement homes help keep residents actively engaged in life. Assisted living centers have community activity managers that work to learn about the interests of their residents so they can design a wide variety of activities that will excite their sense, both physically and emotionally. These often include opportunities to learn new skills and improve others. They include fun and games too, along with lots of entertainment. There are fitness programs, group outings and lots of community outreach opportunities. In short, assisted living center are active places were seniors can enjoy truly active lives.

Meals are served 3 times a day, and besides being Kosher, they are often a wonderful mix of traditional and modern tastes, that are wonderfully fused into memorable meals, that are shared with good friends, in well-appointed dining rooms. Go into any of these during meal time and you are very likely to forget you are in an assisted living center and not a fine restaurant somewhere else in the community.

Snacks are also served throughout the day so no one goes wanting and things like metabolism and blood sugar levels are kept right where they need to be.

Seniors coming into an assisted living facility will chose a private space they will be able to call home. These are typically studio and one-bedroom suites but they can also include two-bedroom apartments that can be shared with a family member or close friend. They also typically offer some number of semiprivate suites for those that don’t mind sharing and need to make tight budgets stretch a bit further.

Jewish living facilities in Alaska will be hard to find but living a faithful life as a Jew in Alaska isn’t all that tough for seniors who live in a close proximity to the Jewish community and stay close to their favorite Synagogue. Give us a call to speak to a local senior living adviser in your area at no charge.