Frequently Asked Questions

What is Assisted Living?

Assisted living is for adults who need help with everyday tasks (ADL’s – Activities of Daily Living). (See the ‘Evaluator on Page One) They may need help with dressing, bathing, eating, or using the bathroom, but they don't need full-time nursing care. Some assisted living facilities are part of retirement communities. Others are near medical resources to ease the care of the senior.

Assisted living costs less than nursing home care. The cost maybe supplemented by V.A. benefits or underwritten by Long Term Care Insurance.

Often times a mate will be in good health, but may need help with the loved one. Assisted Living can provide them the freedom to live a normal life while giving the loved one the needed assistance.

What is Personal Care?

‘Personal Care’ provides care for those needing more assistance. This enables them to enjoy involvements in activities and events and yet receive the care they need. Oasis Lifestyles is committed to helping maintain dignity while maintaining independence.

What is Special Care?

Special Care provides additional care in a secured environment. For families whose loved one may be a ‘wanderer’ it provides a safe, secure place while giving the advantage of independence and dignity in a resort-style environment.

Memorial Hermann Home Health and Therapy Services provides on-site services. Their base-line assessment and performance based program helps keep seniors active and independent. Each resident is assessed several times during the year to keep them active and reduce their risks.

Oasis Lifestyles Mission…

The following Mission Statement states the goal of Oasis Lifestyles:

• Provides Quality Assistance
• Protects Privacy
• Preserves Dignity
• Promotes Independence

Oasis Lifestyles Location…

In the southwest of Houston, Oasis Lifestyles is strategically located between southwest Houston and the suburbs of Sugar Land, Missouri City, and Stafford in Meadows Place off Highway 59. Fort Bend County and Sugar Land, Texas have been ranked for several years as one of the best areas of the country to live.

Oasis Lifestyles is Luxurious, but Affordable…

Ranked by several as a ‘best buy’ Oasis Lifestyles has the unique distinction of being moderately priced. The price is ‘All-Inclusive’. Unlike most competitors, everything is included in the ‘Level of Care’. This assures that there are no hidden ‘surprises’ at the end of the month. Contracts are for thirty days, giving the senior opportunity to do what is best for them.

What is Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging; it is a progressive and fatal disease.www.alz.org

• Is a progressive and fatal brain disease.

More than 5 million Americans now have Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. For more information, see Symptoms or Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Oasis Lifestyles Special Care Unit…

The Special Care Unit of Oasis Lifestyles is a secured environment where those with various forms of dementia and Alzheimer’s can enjoy resort-style living while receiving special care. We believe such individuals need ‘Special Care’ while living in an environment suited for their enjoyment and protection.

What is Parkinson disease?

Parkinson disease is a brain disorder.  It occurs when certain nerve cells (neurons) in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die or become impaired. Normally, these cells produce a vital chemical known as dopamine. Dopamine allows smooth, coordinated function of the body's muscles and movement.  When approximately 80% of the dopamine-producing cells are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinson disease appear.

What are the signs and symptoms of Parkinson disease?

The loss of dopamine production in the brain causes the primary symptoms of Parkinson disease.  The key signs of Parkinson disease are:

• Tremor (shaking)
• Slowness of movement
• Rigidity (stiffness)
• Difficulty with balance

Other signs of Parkinson disease may include:

• Small, cramped handwriting
• Stiff facial expression
• Shuffling walk
• Muffled speech
• Depression

Who gets Parkinson disease?

Parkinson disease affects both men and women in almost equal numbers.  It shows no social, ethnic, economic or geographic boundaries.  In the United States, it is estimated that 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, joining the 1.5 million Americans who currently have Parkinson disease.  While the condition usually develops after the age of 65, 15% of those diagnosed are under 50.

How is Parkinson disease diagnosed?

The process of making a Parkinson disease diagnosis can be difficult. There is no X-ray or blood test that can confirm Parkinson disease.  A physician arrives at the diagnosis only after a thorough examination.  Blood tests and brain scans known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be performed to rule out other conditions that have similar symptoms.  People suspected of having Parkinson disease should consider seeking the care of a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson disease.

http://www.parkinson.org

Oasis Lifestyles…

Although afflicted with Parkinson’s or a related disease, such residents can enjoy the activities and amenities of Oasis Lifestyle. Many residents have dealt with this disease while enjoying the benefits of resort-style living. This is Oasis, an environment where friends and family can enjoy each other’s company, the wonderful view of gardens, the water features, and the park, yet at a price that is affordable.

What is Stroke?

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America and the No. 1 cause of adult disability.

80% of strokes are preventable; you can prevent a stroke!

What is a stroke?

A stroke or "brain attack" occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery (a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body) or a blood vessel (a tube through which the blood moves through the body) breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain.  When either of these things happen, brain cells begin to die and brain damage occurs.

When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities controlled by that area of the brain are lost.  These abilities include speech, movement and memory.  How a stroke patient is affected depends on where the stroke occurs in the brain and how much the brain is damaged.

For example, someone who has a small stroke may experience only minor problems such as weakness of an arm or leg.  People who have larger strokes may be paralyzed on one side or lose their ability to speak.  Some people recover completely from strokes, but more than 2/3 of survivors will have some type of disability.

http://www.stroke.org

What is LBD (Lewy Body Disorder)?

Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a progressive brain disease and the second leading cause of degenerative dementia in the elderly. The clinical name, “dementia with Lewy bodies” (DLB), accounts for up to 20% of all dementia cases, or 800,000 patients in the US. Over 50% of Parkinson’s disease patients develop “Parkinson’s disease dementia” (PDD), which accounts for at least 750,000 patients. (PDD is also a Lewy body dementia.)

Other names for the Lewy body dementias are:

• Lewy body disease (LBD)
• Diffuse lewy body disease (DLBD)
• Cortical Lewy body disease (CLBD)
• Lewy body Variant of Alzheimer's (LBV)(LBVA)
• Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD)

http://www.lewybodydementia.org

Guidelines for the Evaluation of Dementia and
Age-Related Cognitive Decline

Psychologists can play a leading role in the evaluation of the memory complaints and changes in cognitive functioning that frequently occur in the later decades of life. Although some healthy aging persons maintain very high cognitive performance levels throughout life, most older people will experience a decline in certain cognitive abilities.

This decline is usually not pathological, but rather parallels a number of common decreases in physiological function that occur in conjunction with normal developmental processes. For some older persons, however, declines go beyond what may be considered "normal" and are relentlessly progressive, robbing them of their memories, intellect, and eventually their abilities to recognize spouses or children, maintain basic personal hygiene, or even utter comprehensible speech. These more malignant forms of cognitive deterioration are caused by a variety of neuropathological conditions and dementing diseases.

http://www.apa.org/practice/dementia.html