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One of the best parts about Florida is the beautiful beaches. The ever-reaching blue and pretty sand are reasons why retirees are moving to Florida. Enjoying time at the beach can be a great way to spend time with friends, meditate, exercise, and soak up some sun. 

If you are looking into assisted living in Saint Petersburg, you likely want one that’s near the beach. But will you be able to get there? What if you don’t drive? You’ll be happy to know that many assisted and independent living facilities in St. Petersburg, FL, offer “beach day” trips. 

While these are meant to be fun and recreational, it is always important to stay safe. Here are five ways for seniors to enjoy beach days without risk or danger.

1. Wear Sunscreen

Wearing sunscreen is a good practice as an everyday activity, but it is crucial at the beach. The rays from the sun can damage skin and be a contributing factor to diseases, including skin cancer.

Seniors are at a higher risk of experiencing skin damage due to the sun than younger people. They need to wear sunscreen with SPF protection and re-apply as the day goes on.

2. Stay Hydrated

Florida beaches can get very hot and humid in the summer months. Often seniors will become dehydrated without even knowing it, so it is important to stay ahead of the problem and encourage drinking water all day.

3. Don’t Swim Alone

Even seniors who are or were once skilled swimmers should never swim alone. You never know when someone could experience a medical emergency or when a rip current can suddenly sweep someone away. 

You should always keep an eye on one another when swimming, especially the elderly. If your elderly loved one wants to go out in the water, make sure someone accompanies them. 

4. Make Sure Lifeguards Are Present

Even if your group makes a point not to swim alone, swimming can still be dangerous. We often underestimate how much effort it takes to help rescue someone in distress, and a medical emergency in the water can quickly turn into a tragedy. Make sure there are lifeguards around any time an older person is in the water. A trained lifeguard is much more equipped to rescue someone from the water if anything goes wrong. They are also trained in CPR and can help manage the situation before emergency responders arrive.

5. Wear the Right Clothing

Wearing a swimsuit and flip-flops is not enough to stay safe at the beach, particularly for seniors. There are a variety of clothing items to make sure seniors stay safe when spending time at the beach, including:

• Supportive shoes
• Hats
• Long-sleeved shirts
• Warm clothes for when it cools down

Packing the right clothes in addition to accessories like sunglasses and towels will ensure everyone enjoys the day at the beach safely.

Assisted Living in Saint Petersburg

If you or a loved one is considering assisted living, St. Petersburg is a great place to start your search. St. Petersburg is home to many excellent facilities that offer services and amenities to ensure retirees have everything they need.

Ready to stock up on groceries for the week? Assisted living Saint Petersburg lifestyles are best enjoyed with a variety of your favorite snacks – so before you head out for your next shopping trip, here’s a few ideas of some tasty (and healthy!) options that you should consider adding to your list.

Choose Snacks You Can Store

When you move to assisted living Saint Petersburg homes, you typically have a few options for storage. For example, you may have an in-room refrigerator and storage shelves where you can place your food and any other items that you bring along.

Get an idea of your overall storage capacities before you head out shopping. Talk to your center about other storage options, including community fridges and shelves, too!

Know Which Snacks are Healthy for You 

Try to pick healthy snacks that will easily fit into your diet at your new home, such as:

• Grapes and other tasty, snackable fruits 
• Greek yogurt 
• Hummus and pita chips
• Avocado toast 
• “Ants on a Log” – a favorite snack made from celery, creamy peanut butter, and raisins
• Cottage cheese with flax seeds
• Granola bars – available in a variety of tasty flavors

Consider Snacks Provided at Your Assisted Living Saint Petersburg Home 

Did you know that many assisted living homes will provide snacks for their residents? These may come at specific times throughout the day or be available in vending machines. Talk to your center to learn more about what options are available to you and what kind of snack schedules you can anticipate. 

In this way, you can avoid spending money on snacks that will already be available for you. Just as importantly, you can focus on the best way to find healthy options for snacks. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the occasional snack pack of potato chips or cookies in moderation!

Keep Yourself Healthy and Happy

When you move into an assisted living Saint Petersburg, Florida, center, it is important to do what you can to eat deliciously and nutritiously. The best assisted living Saint Petersburg has to offer can provide you with many of these snacks and keep you feeling healthy and great! Now is the time to research the dining options available to you when you make your home at your new assisted living facility.

Moving a parent to an assisted living community is a very emotional time for everyone involved. Where you might be worried about how well they will settle in or their mental well-being once they move, they might be nervous about giving up their independence and comfort zone.

You may also be feeling guilty about this move, wondering if you’ve made the right decision and if they are truly happy with it. Until you see them settle into their new home, you will probably keep second-guessing every decision you’ve made about this move. However, with the quality of assisted living options available today, you can be rest assured that eventually they will find their way, make new friends and gain a sense of belonging within their new community.

Here are a few helpful tips on moving a parent to a St. Petersburg assisted living community:

• Don’t rush packing up

Once you have chosen an assisted living community that satisfies the requirements for your parent’s physical and emotional wellbeing, you can help your parents with packing up their current home. Chances are they will want to take their time going through their belongings and may have a hard time giving some of these up. Don’t rush them and don’t expect this process to take a day. Give them the time they need to part with their cherished items and support them by reminiscing about old memories together.

• Furnish and decorate their new home together

Allow your parents to have a say in how they want to decorate their new living space. To purchase furniture or other essential items they will need, ask the assisted living community to provide you a floor plan in advance so you can study the layout together and see how to fit their belongings and what new items they will require.

• Get acquainted with the new assisted living community

While the downsizing process continues at your parent’s current home, encourage them to take time out to visit their new community and take part in events and meet some of the current residents. Getting to know the staff and becoming familiar with the area will be helpful for your parents and make them feel a little more confident once they move in.

• Decide when and how much to visit

You know your parents best, so once they have moved into their new home, you must decide when to start visiting them and how frequently. If you feel your constant presence will hinder them from making new friends and getting familiar with the new territory, then take a step back and give them the space they need to settle in. However, you may also feel that your visits are helping them feel happier and stronger during this transition, and in that case, you should continue taking the time out for them as frequently as you can.

To learn more about assisted living facilities in St. Petersburg, Florida, contact us at Westminster Shores and see the various residences and services we offer for seniors looking to move. Book a tour with us and we are certain you won’t be disappointed with the care and comfort our community can provide for your loved one.

Assisted living facilities in St. Petersburg, Florida offer essential medical services to residents who may need help with their day-to-day life. Before moving your family member to assisted living in Saint Petersburg, you should consider setting up their room. This creates more comfort and ease on the move-in day. The room may be decorated based on the occupier’s needs and preferences. Below, we provide a checklist of what to pack when moving to assisted living facilities.

Comfortable Furniture

Based on the layout and size of the room, a person may bring some of their own furniture. This can make the room feel more familiar and comfortable. However, the choice of furniture must comply with the facility’s safety regulations. Some of the furniture you could consider includes:

• A wardrobe
• Reading lamp
• A favorite chair
• Bedside table
• Chest of drawers
• Bookcase

Favorite Clothing

When moving to assisted living facilities in St. Petersburg, Florida, a person needs clothing for outdoor and indoor activities, nightwear, and formal occasions. These clothes should be comfortable and withstand regular washing and drying. Clothes to consider packing include:

• T-shirts, blouses, or tops
• Cardigans or jumpers
• Trousers, skirts, or dresses
• Activewear for outdoor activities or exercising
• Tights, socks, and underwear
• Slippers
• Indoor shoes
• Nightgowns or pajamas
• Outdoor shoes
• Warm coats and light jackets for the cold and warm weather, respectively
• A dressing gown
• Formal outfits for occasions or parties
• Hats, gloves, scarves

Pillows, Bed Linen, and Towels 

Assisted living facilities provide towels and bedding as part of the cost. However, some people have a particular preference for fabric or style. In this case, a person can carry their own, but they should communicate with the facility beforehand to ensure that their bedding is acceptable. Things to consider packing include a favorite quilt, throw or blanket, sheets, a lap blanket or shawl, hand and bath towels, pillows, and pillowcases.

Electronics, Books, and Hobbies

Electronic items help a person to remain connected to their family and friends. Additionally, they also offer information and entertainment. Meanwhile, books, puzzles, magazines, and other hobbies are good for stimulating the mind and for enhancing socialization with other people.

Personal Care and Hygiene Products 

Although some assisted living facilities offer toiletries as part of the cost, a person may have to pay extra for other facilities. Therefore, you should consider providing hygiene and personal care products that your loved one prefers to their assisted living facility.

Fall is almost here! As the days get shorter and the nights get cooler, this season is the perfect time of year for residents of independent living facilities in St. Petersburg, Florida to enrich their mental and physical health with fall-themed activities. We’ve curated a list of some wellness-focused fall activities for seniors in St. Petersburg that are easy and safe to do in challenging times – continue reading to learn more!

Tailgate Weekends

The advent of fall is nearly synonymous with the kickoff to a fresh football season. Saturdays and Sundays are dominated by America’s most-watched sport, and tailgating is one of the best ways to come together and enjoy a social setting. Socialization can lighten your mood and make you feel happier, and it may even lower your risk of dementia. Even seniors who don’t enjoy football can still enjoy the following tailgating ideas:

• Set up an outdoor lunch with hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, and more.
• Encourage everyone to wear apparel from their favorite teams.
• Bring a TV and turn it to any of the day’s games for extra entertainment.

Seasonal Gardening

Fall is the best time of year to plant perennial flower bulbs, which are those that bloom year after year. Make note of your favorite flowers and consider which ones you’d like to see sprout in a few months. Daffodils, tulips, and hyacinth are popular choices due to their adaptability to all planting zones. Then, come spring, you’ll be able to reap the full rewards of your gardening investment! Flowers are proven to improve mood, memory, and energy, as well as aid in relaxation, making them an ideal activity for residents of St. Petersburg, Florida independent living.

Soak Up the Scenery

Fall is a delight to the senses – the trees change colors, crunchy leaves adorn the ground, and the air feels a little less heavy. There’s no better way to make the most of the season than simply getting outside and enjoying it firsthand! Consider any of the following activities:

• Open a window to let that fresh fall air in.
• Take a walk down a block or two around your St. Petersburg independent living neighborhood.
• Sit back and relax on your backyard or porch. Don’t be afraid to put your legs up!

Whip Up Festive Treats

Apples, pumpkins, cinnamon – these are all staples of many fall-themed recipes. Cooking and baking more often are both good for you because, not only do they enhance new skills, but they also allow you to save money and control what goes into the food you eat. Furthermore, cooking is an act of patience, mindfulness, an outlet for creative expression, and helps to raise one’s self esteem after a job well done. All of these are reasons why making fall treats benefits your mental health (as well as your stomach). So, dust off your favorite recipe book and get to it! Might we suggest:

• Caramel apple pie.
• Pumpkin cinnamon rolls.
• Apple cider donuts.
• And whatever else you love!

Fall presents those in St. Petersburg independent living with a beautiful opportunity to make the most of the great outdoors. Even if you choose not to step foot outside, all it takes is an open window to let those incredible sights and sounds inside. To learn more about premier living in St. Petersburg, give Westminster Shores a call today. Chart your course to luxurious accommodations and amenities in our independent living facilities on the stunning waterfront of Tampa Bay!

Assets can earn you more money in the future. Examples include equipment, supplies, and business vehicles. A copyright or patent on a product you invented are examples of intangible assets. All assets can be minimized before entering an assisted living program.

1. Recycle Tangible Assets

The first thing you can do if you have any physical assets is recycle them prior to entering an assisted living program. You should check with your city’s laws and regulations regarding recycling to learn what type of materials can be recycled. Remember, tangible assets may need to be documented and analyzed when entering independent living. Written errors can lead to delays. Additionally, the benefit of recycling physical items is that doing so puts the materials back to good use while ridding them from the list of financial documentation you need to note.

2. Sell Rights to Products That Aren’t Selling

Before entering an assisted living facility in St Petersburg, if you have patents and copyrights on music or other creations, consider whether or not you’re making money on what you created. While everyone wants to reserve their identity on a creation forever, should someone else want to take the idea to new heights, consider negotiating a sale to make a profit. If you haven’t already considered asset management or other professional services, this way (when done correctly) can earn you profit and save hassle in keeping up with miscellaneous payments.

3. Pay for Independent Living

In assisted living facilities in St. Petersburg, Florida, you can minimize your assets by channeling them into a lump sum payment for your assisted living program. The costs of assisted living can cost under $2,000 for monthly fees. This allows residents the opportunity to get everything they need on the side of amenities and services. If you have extra assets, you can sell them and use the funds to pay for your assisted living expenses.

There are fixed and financial assets, plus many more examples of assets including vehicles, furniture, and accounts receivable. If you talk to the right professionals, you can learn how to minimize these assets so that you don’t have as many financial worries to worry about at once. Assisted living facilities in St. Petersburg, Florida want guests to feel organized and comfortable about their finances before enjoying their stay.

Westminster Communities Of Florida Wins Gold, 5 Awards in 2021 National Mature Media Awards

Westminster Communities of Florida was a winner in the 30th Annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearing-house for the senior market, recognizes the nation’s finest marketing, communications, educational materials, and programs designed and produced for older adults. 

The organization was pleased to receive a Gold Award for its “Westminster Sings What The World Needs Now (Is Love)” social media campaign, in the category of Social Media. This video, which featured nearly 50 residents and team members representing our 22 communities, is a heart-warming antidote to the hardest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The video is still available on Westminster’s YouTube channel for viewers to enjoy — go to https://youtu.be/8FhSpfMu_QI.

In addition, Westminster Communities of Florida was recognized with awards for: 

• The rebrand of the Westminster Communities Foundation, which received a Bronze Award in the category of Marketing and Advertising Campaigns. This campaign of brochures, flyers, personalized donor cultivation materials, recognition gifts and more has contributed to the successful launch of a major new campaign focused on donor recruitment for our charitable foundation. We congratulate the Westminster Communities Foundation team.

• A campaign offering advice to our team members who graduated high school and college, “Seniors 2 Seniors,” was recognized with a Bronze Award in the category of Social Media. We asked residents what advice they might give, and then captured them offering it and shared it on social media, as well as our internal CCTV systems. Enjoy the video and get their advice on Westminster’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/d4fzkMIP8Io
  
• To help provide the most up-to-date information on the COVID-19 pandemic to our residents and their family members, we created a special “Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources” online guide. These web pages contained a variety of information about how residents and their families could stay safe, support each other and our communities, and even a fun kids’ activity pack for summer, when camps and day cares were closed. The COVID-19 guide was recognized with a Bronze Award in the category of Web-based Resource/Tool. These resources are still available and up-to-date at https://westminstercommunitiesfl.org/coronavirus-news-and-resources

• Our “Thank You Team Members” campaign, celebrating our team members for their heroic work of caring for vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, received a Merit Award in the category of Marketing and Advertising Campaigns. It consisted of a campaign of signs, banners, recognition gifts, online graphics, social media posts and more. We congratulate our Human Resources and Creative teams for their work on the campaign.

Those involved with the art direction, design and copywriting for the campaigns were Nicole Muller, Vice President of Sales and Marketing; Wes Meltzer, Director of Marketing and Communications; Katherine Peters, Director of Sales, Chris Ware, Creative Services Coordinator; Natalie Rooney, Creative Design Specialist; and Sydney March, Social Media Specialist.

“We were delighted and honored to have been selected for these awards,” Meltzer said. “Our Creative Team does amazing work. The recognition of the Mature Media Awards just confirms it for us. Westminster Communities of Florida was pleased to take part in the 30th anniversary of the Mature Media Awards program, and very happy with the results.”

The entries were judged by a distinguished panel of mature market experts from across the United States for overall excellence of design, content, creativity and relevance to the senior market.

About Westminster Communities of Florida: Westminster Communities of Florida serves more than 7,000 residents in 22 communities throughout Florida who are in search of an enlightened, fully integrated, person-centered approach to health and wellness. Since 1954, we’ve been Florida’s best choice in active senior living. Find out more about how you can Live Well. Be Happy. at a Westminster community – visit our Web site at www.WestminsterCommunitiesFL.org or call 407-839-5050.