Senior Home Health Care Vs. Senior Assisted Living

Senior home health care and senior assisted living are two popular methods for caring for an elder loved one. While they may seem similar in practice, there are some key differences that families should keep in mind before making a decision to go with one method of care over another.

What Is Senior Home Health Care?

Senior home health care is when a trained health professional visits a senior at their place of residence to help with specific activities. From day to day projects to physical therapy, senior home care allows the elderly individual to remain in the comfort of their home. This care can range from a few hours a day to 24 hours a day care. Home health care gives senior citizens the feeling of independence with the security that someone is there to help out should the need arise.

What is Assisted Living?

Senior assisted living takes place in a community that is staffed 24 hours with caregivers trained to meet the individual needs of each resident. It is considered to be a community where your loved one will have access to their own apartment and enjoy the freedom to socialize with other residence and are encouraged to be as independent as possible. In an assisted living community, the needs for assistance vary from resident to resident, but there is always staff-on-hand to ensure that the community runs smoothly and the residents are happy in their new home.

The Key Difference

While many people prefer to remain in their home, home care is very different from the care that is able to be provided at an assisted living community. The main difference is the availability of help. With home care, families face a variety of costs that can be unexpected. From having to schedule more frequent visits to changes in staffing, the services and cost can fluctuate in ways that make many families unhappy. Sure, when senior home health care works, it works, but when funding runs out or caregivers are not available, many families find themselves having to pick up the slack; and frankly, even though there are good intentions, this is not safe for your loved one.

Your loved one deserves the best in services and senior assisted living is able to provide that at a monthly rate that only changes as the resident’s care needs change and is not charged hourly like home care. Our independent living and assisted living communities are able to provide loved ones with:

• Healthy Meals
• Physical Fitness/Therapy Programs
• A Sense of Community
• Housekeeping and Laundering Needs
• Medication Management
• Assistance with bathing and dressing

Ask the Important Questions

When it all comes down to it, you as a family need to make the decision of how your loved one will live out their golden years. You will need to take a step back, evaluate the situation and ask yourselves some questions about what is truly best for your family member.

Consider:

• The wishes of your loved on
• Their current living conditions
• How much care they really need
• Are medical reminders a necessity?
• Have you visited a community before?

If you decide it is time for a residential community, the key to finding the right community is in the answers to your questions.

Your Loved One Deserves the Best in Services with Cornerstone Senior Living

If you are at the crossroads and need to make a decision on how to care for your loved one, get in touch with one of our many communities today. The professionals at Cornerstone Senior Living will be happy to answer all of your questions and help you arrange a visit to one of our beautiful communities.