As a collection of smaller residential environments, The Cottages of Lake Balboa is geared toward individuals that, due to mental, physical, and/or medical issues, are in need of a higher level of care. We are qualified to admit residents with virtually any condition that is legally allowed in a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly.
Our high staff ratio, our highly trained, experienced, and tenured staff, and our resident-centered policies give us the ability to care for your loved one, regardless of his or her condition.
In addition, our active and involved ownership and management give us the ability to work with residents with significant care needs. Whereas other facilities would simply give up caring for residents with numerous or difficult needs (or not even try in the first place), our team-centered approach allows us to devote a large amount of time and resources to each individual resident. Furthermore, our proactive nature helps residents actually improve, rather than simply be cared for.
Determining the Right Level of Care
Navigating the senior care world can be a daunting task, especially for those who have never experienced having to find the right care situation for a loved one. Here at The Cottages of Lake Balboa, we want to help you as much as possible, even if your loved one isn’t one of our residents.
Helpful Tips in Determining the Right Level of Care:
• Would you describe your loved one as basically independent?
If he or she drives, handles his or her own affairs, and has few, if any, care needs, then a larger assisted living facility may be the right environment.
• Does your loved one have several significant medical issues that require continuous care?
If so, he or she likely needs a smaller board and care environment with enough staff to provide for these needs.
• Does your loved one suffer from dementia?
If so, a board and care environment is likely the right one for them. Most assisted living facilities, even ones with special units for dementia residents, simply do not have enough staff to adequately care for these residents. A higher staff ratio, with staff trained and experienced to handle the various symptoms of dementia, can provide the care and monitoring your loved one requires, far more effectively than a large facility.
• Is your loved one non-ambulatory or bedridden?
If so, a larger assisted living facility will likely not fulfill his or her needs effectively. With such low staff ratios, larger facilities are less able to attend to residents that need assistance moving around the facility, either to the bathroom, the dining room, the activities area, etc. When this happens, the benefits of a full and vibrant activities program, a large dining area, and a beautiful facility become less significant. If your loved one is bedridden, it is likely that a large assisted living facility will not be able to admit or retain such residents in the first place.
• Is your loved one mentally alert and very social?
If so, a larger assisted living facility, with many residents of higher cognitive ability, will likely be the right environment, unless the resident has a number of issues that require a more significant amount of care.
*** PLEASE NOTE: As a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly, The Cottages of Lake Balboa is NOT allowed to provide skilled nursing care. If your loved one develops a Prohibitive Health Condition (a condition that is not allowed in an RCFE under any circumstances), he or she must be relocated to a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF). The Cottages of Lake Balboa is more than willing to assist in this transition.