Can You Be in a Wheelchair in Assisted Living? Mobility Assistance Explained

Key Takeaways

• Seniors who use mobility aids like wheelchairs, walkers, and canes independently or with limited assistance can live in an assisted living community.
• Assisted living communities are accessible environments that accommodate mobility aids.

Families sometimes wonder whether using a walker or wheelchair could prevent a loved one from moving into assisted living. In most cases, it won’t. Assisted living communities commonly support residents who use canes, walkers, rollators and wheelchairs. Some communities can also accommodate motorized scooters when residents can operate them safely.

When a senior uses a mobility aid, the assisted living community must do their due diligence to ensure safety during transfers and personal care. Because of state licensing requirements (and community staffing models), seniors who need full assistance to get in and out of their wheelchair or scooter should skip assisted living and instead look to skilled nursing to find the care they need to stay safe and comfortable.

What Wheelchair Users Should Know About Assisted Living

Assisted living communities are licensed as residential homes, not skilled nursing facilities. This means they are not allowed to provide acute, skilled nursing care. In order to ensure they have the staff to meet the needs of the residents, assisted living communities ensure that all residents can complete the majority of activities of daily living (ADLs) with some, little, or no assistance. Seniors who require total assistance, such as needing full assistance while transferring to and from a wheelchair or moving the wheelchair to and from places around the community, cannot live in the assisted living setting.

If your loved one can use a wheelchair independently or with limited assistance, assisted living may still be a good fit. Because admission requirements and care capabilities vary, contact each community directly and be open about your loved one’s mobility needs. The staff can explain what support they provide and whether the community is equipped to meet those needs. 

You’ll often find assisted living communities are quite welcoming and accessible for wheelchair users. At Legend Senior Living residences, for example, wheelchair users enjoy features like wheelchair-accessible parking spaces, common-area bathrooms, accessible apartments, and shared spaces.

What Determines Whether a Community Can Support a Wheelchair User

Assisted living staff members, like a nurse, social worker, or other admission professional, will look at factors that include:

• Transfer ability
  • Can the senior get in and out of their wheelchair safely? Do they need assistance from more than 1 person? Do they need mechanical lift support, such as a Hoyer lift?
  • Seniors who can independently transfer, or who can transfer with the safe support of only 1 caregiver, are often welcomed in assisted living per regulatory guidelines.

• Weight-bearing status and balance
  • People who use wheelchairs need to get up and out of them throughout the day and evening. Communities will assess how the senior helps to move their weight when standing, transferring, and moving around outside of the wheelchair.
  • Someone who cannot bear any weight might not be able to live in assisted living due to regulatory guidance.

• Propelling wheelchair independently and safely
  • While caregivers are available to push residents who use wheelchairs from their apartments to the dining room, activity room, or other shared spaces, the senior should have some ability to move their wheelchair safely and independently around their apartment.
  • If the resident requires full support to propel their wheelchair, or if they operate their wheelchair in an unsafe manner (unsafe for themselves or other residents), it could prohibit them from living in an assisted living setting.

Assisted living communities should be designed to be completely accessible and friendly toward any type of mobility device, including walkers and wheelchairs. Look for communities that feature wide doorways, smooth transitions on flooring, accessibility aids such as grab bars and seats, etc. Finally, communities can enhance their staffing models and team training as their community gains more wheelchairs or mobility aids.

When a Higher Level of Care May Be Needed

While not every wheelchair user needs more acute, skilled care, some do. Seniors who need more than one person to help them transfer, use a mechanical lift, or require full support for repositioning will likely benefit from skilled nursing care. Finding the right type of community can make a big difference when it comes to health, safety, and quality of life.

In order to ensure a senior is placed into the correct type of senior living community, it is imperative that you are candid with their needs and abilities during the interview and tour process. An initial assessment is completed using your information as well as medical information from the senior’s physician, so that everyone can be confident that the senior will receive the type of assistance they need. 

Assessments are completed not only initially, but also yearly and in case of a significant health change. For example, if a senior is living successfully in an assisted living community but has a stroke that affects their mobility and needs, staff members will complete another assessment to figure out what has changed and if the community can continue to meet those needs within regulatory guidance.

A change in mobility needs does not always trigger a move to a higher level of care. However, it can indicate a change in support that the assisted living team must adjust to.

How Senior Living Communities Support Mobility and Reduce Fall Risk

All senior living communities implement fall prevention tactics to enhance residents’ overall wellness. However, assisted living communities pay extra attention to ensuring they are meeting not only regulatory guidance but also giving residents opportunities to work on their strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance.

The National Institute on Aging recommends exercise and other physical activity for seniors to reduce falls and fall-related injuries. Most assisted living communities feature group exercise sessions daily along with balance workshops and activities, yoga classes, and walking clubs. Most communities also provide fall risk assessments done by physical therapists or other clinicians as well as outpatient therapy sessions.

Additional strategies that can help to maintain independence, even while using a mobility aid like a wheelchair, include medication reviews to eliminate side effects that could cause dizziness or fatigue, environmental changes, and range of motion exercises during personal care.

How Communities Support Mobility

Assisted living communities first focus on how the environment and design reduce falls and enhance resident independence. Examples of design features include:

• Easy, smooth flooring transitions
• Low-pile carpeting
• Lots of natural light, with extra artificial light in corners, hallways, and other darker areas
• Accessible apartments and bathrooms
• Grab bars and shower chairs 
• Personal care alarms in case of emergency
• Shared spaces, such as dining rooms and activity rooms, that are in a central location of the community reduce how far the residents need to walk or wheel from place to place

Who Provides and Pays for Mobility Equipment?

Residents typically provide their own mobility equipment, as their individual needs are often assessed by their primary care physician and physical therapist. While assisted living communities can have extra wheelchairs, walkers, and canes on hand in case of emergency or short-term use, the key to a safe mobility aid is getting one that meets the senior’s specific needs and is professionally fitted by a physical therapist.

When it comes to payment, Medicare Part B can often cover costs for prescribed walkers, wheelchairs, and even scooters as durable medical equipment. A physician must prescribe them, and they must meet coverage rules and supplier requirements. You might also find financial relief by working with your local Area Agency on Aging for grants that can offset costs of medical equipment such as mobility aids. 

Explore Mobility-Friendly Senior Living with Legend

Using a mobility aid, such as a walker or wheelchair, is a smart way to remain independent and safe; using one will typically not be a barrier to moving to an assisted living community. However, you want to be sure you are being clear about your loved one’s support needs so that everyone can be on the same page when it comes to assisting them in their new home. The best way to get started is to schedule a visit at assisted living communities in your desired location. You’ll get to see the accessibility of each potential community and get one-on-one time with a team member who can answer your questions.

At Legend Senior Living residences, we provide a personalized approach that begins with the initial assessment. We want to learn more about each resident, including their current and anticipated needs, so we can best care for them in our accessible, thoughtfully designed residences.

Explore assisted living at Legend Senior Living and consider scheduling a tour of a community near you.