Meet our Happy Residents

Roxie & Ralph

Testimonial

Roxie & Ralph tells us what they think about Forest Hill Heights

Forest Hill Heights Senior Living is an all-inclusive assisted living community where seniors can live a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life in Harford County, Maryland.

Meet our Happy Residents

Roxie & Ralph

Testimonial

Roxie & Ralph tells us what they think about Forest Hill Heights

Forest Hill Heights Senior Living is an all-inclusive assisted living community where seniors can live a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life in Harford County, Maryland.

10 Warning Signs

Video

It Might Be Time for Assisted Living

Are you starting to get worried about Mom or Dad being by themselves at home? Watch the video to familiarizing yourself with the signs.

Assisted Living

Familiarizing yourself with these 10 signs will help make the planning process much easier.

    1. 1. Mobility Issues: Is Mom or Dad having trouble walking around the house, walking up and down the stairs or demonstrating any signs of decreased mobility? Are you worried about falls and fractures due to normal physical changes that can limit your loved one’s mobility?
    1. 2. Memory Problems: Does Mom or Dad tend to forget important events, doctor appointments or even forget to take their medications? Do you notice any issues related to memory problems like repeating the same questions and statements over and over, misplacing things or leaving the stove on several times? Does your aging love one wander away from home?
    1. 3. Needs Help with Personal Care or Grooming: Does your aging parent go out without brushing his/her hair, wear dirty clothes, have bad breath or demonstrate other signs of neglecting personal hygiene? For seniors with medical conditions, hygienic tasks may be difficult to do.
    1. 4. Housekeeping Issues: Next time you visit your aging loved one, try to observe and look around the house. Is the house well maintained? Are the counters and floors dirty? Are there spoiled foods in the refrigerator? If you answer yes to any of these questions, chances are your aging relative needs help with household chores.
    1. 5. Driving Safety Issues: Are you worried about your aging loved one’s driving abilities? Are there scratches or dents on the car or several traffic tickets? These driving safety issues may be a result of cognitive impairment and diminished motor capabilities due to aging. If you feel that your parent or aging relative can no longer drive safely, you have to find a way to get him or her to stop driving.
    1. 6. Weight Loss: Has your mom, dad or aging relative been losing weight? Is it a sudden weight loss? If yes, then it might be an indication that the seniors is not eating. This may be due to decreased in appetite, loss of ability to do grocery shopping or to prepare and cook their own food. However, for some seniors, weight loss may be attributed to memory loss, which results to skipping meals or forgetting to eat.
    1. 7. Money Management Assistance: When visiting your aging relative, do you notice tons of bills on the counter, receipts for large charitable donations, calls or final notices from creditors? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, chances are your elderly loved one needs help in managing his or her finances.
    1. 8. Issues with Medication: Proper medication is important for seniors who have medical conditions. When visiting your aging relative, do you notice any expired medicine bottles or unfilled prescriptions? If you do, this may be a sign that your aging loved one is no longer able to manage his or her own medications properly.
    1. 9. Inability to Communicate: Does your aging love one experience difficulties in communicating their feelings and emotions? If yes, then it might be a sign that your elderly loved one is starting to lose the sharpness she or he once had.
  1. 10. Depression : Depression affects everyone, including seniors. However, the warning signs of senior depression can be different than younger adults, which make it harder to identify. Decrease in interests in things your aging relative once loved, moodiness, lack of appetite, fatigue and other behavioral changes are some signs of depression.

Which One To Choose?

Assisted Living vs Nursing Homes

Video

Assisted Living Vs Nursing Homes

Watch the video to learn the main difference between Assisted Living and Nursing Homes.

AL vs NH

Which One is Better and Why

We hear in the news everyday about the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact on the elderly, especially those that are living in nursing homes. Unfortunately, more times than not, it is assumed that assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities are one and the same. But they are NOT! There are significate differences between Skilled Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living Communities. I would like to share with you what the big differences are because almost all of the assisted living facilities in the Harford County area and surrounding counties are virus free.

1st Main Difference

Appearance

One of the most obvious differences you will see when you tour will be the appearance. Commonly, larger assisted living communities will resemble an upscale resort like community, whereas nursing homes will generally look more institutional. The type of care is also different between the two facilities. Assisted Living is ideal for people who may be more independent but need assistance with some activities of daily living, where nursing home patients typically live with more complex health care conditions that require skilled nursing care.

2nd Main Differences

Admission Process

Nursing Homes usually receive their admissions from hospitals and sub-acute facilities and that can lead to being exposed to more germ or viruses. Assisted living residents tend to come from their own homes or their children’s home. The elderly tends to socially isolate themselves and in turn are less exposed to germs/viruses.

3rd Main Differences

Floor Plan

Nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities commonly have anywhere from 2 to 4 patients in a shared bedroom and shared bathroom. They also have a large shared shower room for the entire floor/unit which usually consist of 30 or more patients. Whereas in most large assisted living communities the residents have private bedrooms and bathrooms, which limits cross contamination of germs between patients/ residents.

4th Main Difference

Flexibility

Lastly, assisted living facilities are able to make their own decisions regarding policies and procedures for their community as long as it abides by the state guidelines. Most assisted living facilities were already putting protocols into effect before the governor announced his executive orders, thereby catching things early before the virus was in the area and staying ahead of the curve

Forest Hill Heights is working hard to remain virus free and keeping the residents safe, healthy and happy!

See Our Level of Care