Assisted Living Springfield Oregon And Retirement Community

SPRINGFIELD ASSISTED LIVING

What is Assisted Living? 

Assisted living represents a group of services that work as a combination of housing, personal care, and health assistance, mostly to disabled folks and seniors. Designed to serve individuals who need assistance with everyday activities but in a way that promotes maximum independence, it represents the perfect balance between making life easier for seniors while giving them the right amount of autonomy and freedom.

From our extensive experience in providing assisted living services, we divide them into two main categories:

1. Communities that support independent living for seniors
2. Communities that have the added support of on-site medical personnel

Most seniors prefer to retain as much independence and autonomy in their everyday lives as possible, so they do not require medical assistance or constant care. Instead, they desire to be able to carry out regular activities, just without the constant worry about trivial issues. They need someone to cook meals for them, do the housework, give them a ride around the community and occasionally provide them with medical care. All the while hosting social activities and physical exercises.

This is usually the more structure of an independent care senior community. Communities that support onsite medical assistance tend to fall under the category of nursing homes.

Willamette Oaks Covers Most Types Of Senior Assistance Services

Considering our residents’ health and happiness as our top priority, Willamette Oaks maintains a stance built on various principles we hold ourselves accountable to. Among them is firm adherence to our LifeMinded program for seniors, which motivates participants to work on their social and physical skills through group activities. 

Our restaurants provide diverse and healthy diet programs while our housekeeping staff takes care of keeping apartments clean and tidy. 

Some senior residences in Springfield are designed to accommodate those who require medical and assistance in general. These communities usually include licensed nurses, medication assistance, and round the clock observation of health status and are thus usually closer to nursing homes. Persons with serious health issues or who are in declining health would be best served by this type of care. 

Willamette Oaks specializes in filling the gap between independent living and assisted living in an approach that allows seniors to “age in place”. This way, we make sure that as our residents’ needs change, they still have everything in the same place and don’t need to move after settling down. Our residents stay satisfied and continue living an independent and active lifestyle with less stress.

Different folks require different types of services, and it’s impossible to come up with one solution for all. Before making a decision, it is essential to determine the type of care you or your loved one needs. 

When calling us to get a sense of what we offer, ask yourself:

1. Is assisted living enough? 
2. Do you need a nursing home or memory care? 
3. What kind of services and amenities are you expecting? 
4. Do you wish to bring a pet?

From there on, when you visit us for a consultation, you will decide if our amenities meet your requirements. We believe we offer the finest senior care available, but we want people to live where they will receive the care that’s right for them. Let’s get in touch so we can work out the details together.

INDEPENDENT LIVING

For most of us, ending our careers and getting into retirement marks the beginning of a new era in our lives. With so much free time suddenly on our hands, it seems like the perfect opportunity to dedicate ourselves to things we missed out on while being independent and free to do whatever we desire. But one thing we tend to forget is that, at this age, our bodies aren’t what they used to be. And neither are our minds.

While the idea of spending retirement in our own Springfield homes sounds like a dream come true, in reality, most of us tend to get so overwhelmed with new challenges and difficulties - so much so that eventually the costs start to outweigh the benefits. There’s always something around the house that needs fixing. Bills waiting to be paid. An injury here and there, forgetfulness, mistakes, groceries needing to get picked up. Stuff needing organizing. A home is a living thing. When we start neglecting it, it quickly turns into a bad place to live in.

To top it all, as duties and chores continue multiply, so do the risks of getting injured.

Fortunately, more and more senior folks are realizing this and are swapping their life-at-home for a life at local senior living communities. This makes sense in the long run since it allows you to spend the rest of your retirement free of a whole spectrum of challenges and time sinks.

If you really feel like you've earned yourself a good retirement, you might want to consider moving to this type of community.

All the while, retirees can focus on building unexpected friendships and discovering completely new activities that they missed out on before - or never actually had time to focus on.

What makes Senior Living Communities ideal for retirement?

As a Springfield resident, imagine if you didn’t have to spend half of your day driving around just to pay your bills, or to find the right stuff that’s been occupying your shopping list for months. Well, that’s what Senior Living Communities are all about. Offering pleasant and safe housing for seniors while providing them with everything they could possibly need.

From food, accessories, transportation, housekeeping, security, counseling, all the way to fundamental medical care, these communities provide everything. But if everything is already taken care of, what can you do with all the free time? Anything you want, really, that’s what makes it worthwhile:

• social activities, 
• further education
• fitness programs
• Building new skills or sharpening old ones.
• Participation in organized events.
• Finding a new hobby and creating something unique
• Helping others

The founders of Willamette Oaks understood just how important these features are for our senior residents. This is why we do everything to meet their needs and listen to their feedback. Furthermore, we maintain constant communication with our staff and residents through voice-activated communication systems available throughout our estate.

Aging in place, aging together - Why Move From Springfield?

While most Senior Living Communities claim they specialize in the concept of “Aging in place”, most of them are being run like corporate ventures, which is how they grow to become so huge across the US, not just in Springfield, Oregon.

We, on the other hand, pay special attention to small details that make a huge difference and help our residents make the most out of their retirement. By organizing housing units into small clusters, we allow our residents to share common rooms and facilities, thus making sure they never again feel lonely, while still giving them a high degree of independence.

We also encourage our staff to build and maintain relationships with our clients and listen to the feedback they receive. As the term “aging in place” explains, it’s not just about dealing with aging the right way, it’s about finding a second family and a new home, where one can have everything they ever dreamed of when entering retirement.

Willamette Oaks understands the importance of family and friendship

Since the day it was founded, 30 years ago, Willamette Oaks maintained a policy of prioritizing friendship and social bonds between its residents, and its staff as well. We’ve all learned a lot since then, and the practices we have are a result of our experience.

The staff and management carefully listen to all feedback and encourage communication between our staff and clients in order to make everyday life easier for all sides and stay the best in our business. After all, this place belongs to all of us, and we are here to serve you! Not the other way around.

If you are considering becoming our tenant, we invite you to come over and see our estate in person. Our staff will make sure you get a detailed tour of the grounds and get all your questions answered. Last but not least, we will gladly introduce you to current Willamette Oaks residents so you can hear from them personally why they consider us and our staff a part of their family and why they enjoy our services.

NUTRITION

Your body can handle aging better than you think. If you give it the right tools!

Choosing what we eat has a huge impact not only on our physical but our mental health as well. For centuries, scientists have wondered why some ethnic groups have longer life spans than others. As it turns out, it’s all about diet. Folks living in either tropical or hot climates usually have a variety of different foods at their disposal. Fruits and vegetables thrive in such conditions, and if there’s access to the open sea, then it’s a recipe for great cuisine and a long, joyful life.

Diversity is the key. Meat and carbohydrates may be our primary and favorite sources of proteins and energy, but when it comes to nutrition, and mental health, fruits, vegetables, and seafood reign supreme. Our bodies use gut bacteria to break down ingested food. What’s even more interesting, those same bacteria have a pivotal role in transporting serotonin, the “happy hormone” and an important neurotransmitter, along with the digestive system, where it is finally absorbed and “consumed”. Considering all this, it is of utmost importance to keep those bacteria healthy and happy. And that’s where fruits and vegetables come in.

Rich in fibres and vital amino acids, fruits and veggies serve as a bodily cleanse - providing resources for both our own digestion and the bacteria that inhabit our guts. You know how much of a difference it makes when you have a good home-cooked meal. The level of energy you receive from good food is the foundation for a productive day and even a good night’s sleep. A balanced diet leads you towards a well-regulated metabolism, restored endocrine functions, and therefore - a healthier body with a balanced level of hormones, neurotransmitters, and enzymes. And there’s always more to learn about what makes us tick!

For example - while poultry, pork, and beef certainly contain vast amounts of proteins, they usually carry substantial amounts of additives and saturated fats. Which not only raise bad cholesterol levels but also serve as breeding grounds for various malignant pathogens and bacteria. Seafood, on the other hand, is very rich in both proteins and healthy fatty acids which help and heal our body and immune system.

Seafood contains fatty acids such as Omega-3 which serve as natural regulators of our metabolism and immune system. In other words, they keep our defense mechanisms in check and protect us from dangerous inflammation.

A new raging issue across the US is the rise of autoimmune diseases, and many of these can be drastically reduced with a balanced diet, and especially avoiding certain processed foods.

Inflammatory processes have been proven to be not just a physical problem, but a mental one as well. All kinds of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and many others, stem from immune dysregulation. This is why Willamette Oaks chefs pay so much attention to diet.

At Willamette Oaks, residents’ nutrition is our top concern

With decades of experience in senior housing, backed by the latest research on nutrition, Willamette Oaks Assisted Living community pays special attention in making sure our residents eat healthy while still enjoying their favorite meals.

Our salad bars are always full of seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs, prepared in many different forms to meet our residents’ needs and tastes. Besides regular meat, we also offer a wide variety of seafood specialties, rich in proteins and energy. 

Unlike most other senior living communities, we do not use standardized menus, but instead, invite our residents to give us their feedback and work with us to come up with customized dishes tailored according to their needs and preferences.

Our residents can enjoy their meals however and whenever they please. What makes us shine in this regard is our full room service to those wishing to spend their day at home, with a couple of close friends or family members, or even if it’s a special occasion they’d like to honor.

FITNESS: BODY & MIND

Retirement brings many changes and unforeseen events. And while we like to think we can handle whatever comes our way, once we get into a certain age, reality tends to differ from our projections. 

Tasks that once seemed trivial, eventually become challenges. This is especially common with seniors opting to spend their retirement in their homes. They see it as an opportunity to enjoy things they like, but they usually end up feeling isolated, lonely, lazy, and unmotivated to do anything, let alone maintain their physique.

It’s a vicious cycle that can influence your ability to maintain your living environment, which in turn makes you even more depressed. Our brains don’t like unfinished business. If you go to bed a few nights in a row with a bunch of unresolved issues, it will start to haunt you and become a new source of stress.

Neglecting physical health means giving up on mental health as well.

This can be a serious problem since maintaining physical also helps preserve mental health as well. As we get older, maintaining an active and strong immune system is vital in keeping us safe not just from common diseases and pathogens, but from neurodegenerative and autoimmune disorders as well.

Everything in our bodies is interconnected, and that goes for the immune system as well. A powerful weapon that can be used both for good and bad, our immune system directly or indirectly affects almost all processes in our bodies. Failing to keep it strong and in check can quickly result in heart diseases, tissue degeneration, and inflammatory processes that can wreak havoc, especially on our physical, and then mental health. So what can one do to prevent this?

Willamette Oaks Senior Living Community motivates residents to live an active life.

The simple solution is to exercise regularly and keep an active daily routine. Now, we understand this can be a challenge even for younger folks, let alone adults and people of age. But with decades of experience in senior care, Willamette Oaks Senior Living Community has the right skills and knowledge to motivate its residents to stay fit.

Our core principle is to make residents fall in love with fitness, by mixing exercises with fun and social activities. When people work as a team and encourage each other, miracles happen and boundaries are pushed. Even a simple but unbelievably underestimated exercise such as breathwork can be made into an interesting experience with a group of people working together.

We also educate our residents on the mechanisms behind fitness, how to maintain their health, set new goals, and achieve them. All the while staying happy and forging new friendships.

Teaching seniors the concept of LifeMinded

Of course, we understand that like all good things in life, great achievements and changes take time and effort. Therefore, we use a special concept aimed at motivating elders to gradually incorporate exercise into their lives and stay fit for good. 

The concept combines five key components. Designed to mentally prepare the body and mind for a physical makeover, the first step starts with causal dancing classes, yoga lessons, and walking tours.

The second part focuses on what we call Brain Fitness, where participants are motivated to use their wits and logical thinking to solve puzzles and compete for points in various social activities. This component is designed to keep their intellect and reason in check while providing them endless fun and competition.

Then, there’s the Social connection category. The key principle behind the LifeMinded program is to nurture social interaction and relationships through hosting weekly workshops, parties, events, and clubs that encourage our residents to be outgoing and partake in social activities.

Lastly, we believe that there’s no better reward for any human than to see the result of their effort in front of them and realize the impact they have on the world. 

Being the pinnacle of the LifeMinded program, Making a Difference is the step leading seniors to get involved in various classes in order to improve their current and develop new skills. It also motivates them to seek new passions and create something on their own, activating their creativity and funneling their energy into positive, long-lasting results and creations.

If you would like to learn more, we are happy to answer any questions. Contact us today and let’s forge a plan for your retirement, together!