Choosing Between Assisted Living and Home care

Caring for the elderly is difficult for many families. The younger family members have to go to work during the day. It leaves many families in a dilemma of choosing between assisted living and memory care home. One of the determinants of whether to choose assisted living or a care home is finances.

Depending on where you live and your financial capability, you must make a good choice for your elderly family members. If they are still in good health, an assisted living facility care home is a good option. It provides them with a community to engage and spend time with. However, if they are in poor health, home care is encouraged. That said, it may be more expensive.

Get a list of assisted living facilities near you. Use this list to select one for your elderly relative. A list of nursing homes should provide a price comparison. Before you pick a facility, visit several from your list. You can compare the environment and level of comfort for those housed in the facility. It also helps you to determine if the cost is fair enough to pay. Or, you can get home care for more time with family, especially for the much older family members.

Choosing between assisted living and home care is a tough decision to make and needs some factors to be considered before making a choice. The tough choice is because the whole process of choosing is a complex matrix that requires you to evaluate the pros and cons of each option and choose based on your specific needs. Whether your spouse or parent requires assistance, nursing homes are there to offer care services. If you are specific about the kind of care you are looking for, your budget and a few other tertiary factors, then making the choice should not be as hard. Over the last decade, the number of people in nursing homes has since increased significantly. For example, it was estimated that there were about 22,200 people living in assisted homes and other care facilities. Here is what you should consider before choosing between assisted living and home care.

Figure Out Your Needs
It is of great importance that you first figure out how much help your elderly adult need. After this, try and compare the needs with the kind of assistance being offered at the nursing homes. Balancing the need of the elderly and the services being offered by the nursing home staff is a pointer of the nature of services weighed against other factors such as quality and special needs. There are certain people in care facilities that require specialized services. It is worth noting that most escondido nursing homes have tried to tailor care services at the facilities to include skilled care for nursing home residents. Currently, it is estimated that 40% of all assisted living facilities offer some form of skilled care for residents. You need to be very realistic on your needs and expectations. Also, understand the kind of period that the elderly adult will be requiring care services-is it on an ongoing basis or long term.

Understand the Difference Between Home Care and Assisted Living
Before making the decision between assisted living facilities and home care, you need to understand how the two operate. Just like the name suggests, home care is when you seek the services of a caregiver to attend to your elderly kin on a need-basis. This means that the older adult can continue living safely while at home. One of the advantages of using home care services is that the senior citizen doesn’t have to relocate. In addition, the care needs are custom-tailored to suit the individual receiving care. However, home care services can be expensive especially if the seniors need 24/7 care. Another downside for home care services is that they are a recipe for social isolation that could escalate cases of depression on the older adult. Assisted living on the other hand is more affordable and guarantees 24/7 care and supervision. The downside of assisted living is that the quality of care depends on the person delivering it.

Understand Your Financial Situation
It is always a good idea to work within your financial capabilities. There are so many ways that you can do a price comparison between home care and assisted living based on your specific needs. The best approach to go around this is to visit nearest assisted living centers around your area and get a price structure. You can then weigh these against home services cost. There are several factors that obviously affect the cost of services for both assisted living and home care services. Some of the shared factors that will have an effect on the final cost of services include: hours of care needed, personal care utilities, transportation and emergency cost.

Bottom Line
Even after evaluating all the factors and you still haven’t made the decision yet, don’t get too overwhelmed least you make a decision based on emotions. You can start with home care and if you feel that it is not working, enroll your elderly adult to an assisted living facility.