To asses your aging parent’s needs for senior living, know that there are many more options for senior living today than ever before. Your aging parents may not even need to move into a nursing home , they may just need a nurse for in-home health care or have transportation to an adult care facility that offers just a couple hours of care a day during the week.

What are your parent’s real issues and needs? Depending on your parent’s mental and physical health conditions will certainly evaluate what kind of care they need. Here are just a couple of options to look into if your senior parents only need part-time care, not fulltime care.

• Meals on Wheels program- the oldest and longest running organization in America for helping to feed and provide nutritional services to disadvantaged, disabled, elderly or at risk citizens.

• Adult Day Care- Choosing an adult day care center for an aging parent’s needs is sometimes the best option for Baby Boomers who are deciding on adult care for their parents because the parent is able to remain at home with the family in the evenings and weekends, but receives the care they need during a 9-5 work week. Often times it is a more affordable option than 24/7 care in an assisted living facility.

For longer-term Assistance Look to:

• Assisted Living- Although seniors are increasingly living long and healthy lives, they may need housing with additional services at some point or, a couple may find that one of them needs more care than can be provided by other senior housing types.

• Nursing home/specialty homes- Referred to as skilled nursing facilities or rest homes, nursing homes are communities that provide continual nursing care for people who have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living. While other types of senior housing provide communal dining areas or organized activities, nursing homes can provide 24-hour medical care and physical therapy.

Don’t underestimate the value of a family meeting. Instead of taking on the task of figuring out how to take care of mom and dad all on your own, ask your siblings, aunts, uncles and friends for help. Form a to-do list that you can all contribute too and break up the jobs so that you are not the only one shouldering all the work.

Open your eyes and ears to advice. Word of mouth is the best way to learn about nursing homes, adult day care and other assisted living communities or senior centers that other people trust. Lastly, don’t forget your local YMCA, public library and online bulletin boards, these places are gold mines for information and can offer so much advice, assistance and support.