Senior living options and planning with Longevity Senior Living’s Allison Combs
GODFREY - A representative with Longevity Senior Living Community shared more about her community and the ways that people can care for older adults.
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Allison Combs, director of sales and marketing at Longevity, stopped by “According to Jama and Nikki” to talk about her role and her experience with the community. She encourages people to ditch the word “facility” when describing senior living communities, as most of these places are not “institutional” but rather great places for older adults to live.
“It is a community by definition,” she added. “There’s multiple people there, multiple generations, multiple cultures. We’re all learning how to collaborate and live together and have some fun and nurture and take care of one another along the way.”
Combs explained that Longevity offers independent and assisted living. She clarified that both of these options are great steps for older adults who need a little help but don’t need a nursing home setting. In fact, Combs believes nursing homes should be reserved for those who most need that level of care.
“Everybody thinks, ‘Mom needs care, we’re going to the nursing home.’ Please don’t. We have about eight different stops we could make along the way,” she said. “We’ve got so many great communities in this Madison County/Jerseyville area that I’m very familiar with. There are so many places we could be other than the dreaded nursing home.”
Combs noted that the first step in helping an older adult age gracefully is often making their home accessible. There are many ways to do this, and plenty of tools and tricks that can help. She suggests that even YouTube has tutorials on how to help someone take a shower with dignity.
She encourages family members of all ages to get involved, whether that’s helping with weekly chores or taking loved ones out into the community for “field trips.” She joked that “it doesn’t always have to be the poor crisis mode eldest daughter” doing all the heavy lifting.
“We can have our dignity and our independence as long as humanly possible,” she said. “Just set them up for success. Then, if or when maybe we need it, assisted living or supportive living are the next steps.”
Combs can help you and your family determine which level of care is best. She can also set you up with services to ensure you have the support you need when you need it. She regularly navigates veteran benefits and insurance companies and can help you through this process.
When choosing a senior living community, Combs encourages families to visit and get a sense of the people and the support available. She noted that there are many great spots throughout the Riverbend region, and Longevity is one of them.
“You’re really comparing apples to oranges. It’s not even apples to apples,” she explained. “Please go visit all these communities; they’re all very different. They all have a different feel. They’re all going to have a different show in the living room, different kind of menu, different entertainment. Go see what works for you, kind of like you did when you looked at your own house or your own little area that you moved to.”
Over the years, Combs has watched many older adults blossom while at Longevity. She jokes that she sometimes receives messages from concerned family members and must reassure them that their loved one is simply too busy to contact them. The people who live at Longevity are enjoying their time.
“That happens to me in the community where we move in somebody and then the daughter is texting, like, ‘Is Mom doing alright? I haven’t heard anything from her,’” Combs said. “And I’m like, what do you mean? She just won at bingo. I saw her dancing and she ordered seconds at dinner. Don’t be offended, but she’s living her best life. I’m sorry, she’s busy. I’ll have her people call your people.”
Combs encourages anyone who wants to know more about Longevity Senior Living Community to reach out. You can contact her at 618-270-0553 or visit the official Longevity website for more information.
This featured article is sponsored by Longevity Senior Living Community. To get your business or organization featured on www.RiverBender.com, contact us at sales@riverbender.com.
