Caring for elders requires time, patience and commitment. In today’s world, where both the young husband and wife are earning members, there is no one left to care for the elder at home. Same is the case for the seniors whose children live abroad or in other distant cities. The lack of the physical proximity of loved ones is felt more acutely when the senior has a medical condition. In order to cope with such situations and with an aim to provide the best for the elder, the family decides to place the elder in a supportive environment. Should this be a nursing home or an assisted living facility?- this is the million-dollar question.
What is the distinction between a nursing home and an assisted living facility?
Most people do not know the meaning of the word “assisted living facility”. They even confuse it with “old age homes”. What does the word “assisted living facility” actually mean?
An assisted living facility is an environment that offers supportive care for seniors who are able to fend for themselves but require assistance only for certain daily activities like cooking, laundry, daily hygiene, etc.
In contrast, a nursing home is a proper clinical facility which offers complete medical care for the senior.
Some expert assisted living facilities offer minimal clinical care with the help of regular health checkups, doctor visits and nursing care. But they cannot provide wholesome treatment facilities like a nursing home.
Nursing home or assisted living facility- which to choose and when?
Seniors with health issues needing 24-hour care and observation need to be admitted in a nursing home. Here they will be under the supervision of trained physicians and will receive professional medical care. If the senior is not suffering from a prolonged illness or does not need continual clinical support, there is no need to admit him/her in a nursing home.
An assisted living facility is for those seniors who are semi-independent. They are ideal for those seniors who came live on their known but just need supportive help for certain activities. These activities may include daily hygiene care like showering or dressing, household chores like cooking or laundry or even minor clinical help like administering insulin injections.
For elders who yearn for a home-like environment, the assisted living facility is the right choice. A nursing home may provide clinical care but not social support. The environment in a nursing home may be clinical but it is also cold and impersonal. The senior may be confined to a bed or maybe in a dorm where the ambience may be more sterile than social. For seniors suffering from loneliness, an assisted living facility would be the better choice.
The assisted living facility offers many options to elders for social interaction and entertainment.
Morning walks, yoga classes, aerobic exercise sessions, group chanting, cultural programs, etc are some of the activities that are organized at assisted living facilities to keep elders busy and socially engaged. At an assisted living facility, no elder ever feels alone.
Elders suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s are better off at assisted living facilities rather than nursing homes. This is because they need 24-hr observation more than clinical care. Dementia patients tend to wander off and need to be under a round-the-clock surveillance. This is possible more at an assisted living facility than at a nursing home. It is not practically possible to allot a nurse or attendant to sit 24×7 near the elder at a nursing home as there is a high demand for trained nurses. But this is definitely possible at an assisted living facility. Because caregivers can be deployed on a shift basis to be by the side of the senior 24×7.
Elders with certain health conditions like Delirium are better placed at assisted living facilities rather than nursing homes.
Delirium is a state of confusion and disorientation that may occur in elders with age due to autonomic or motor dysfunction or homeostatic failure. Research studies reveal that Delirium worsens with a prolonged stay at hospitals or nursing homes. This is why it is best to place elders with such health conditions in the care of an assisted living facility. Here, they will have a secure and homely environ that will appease their fears and clam them.
Last but not the least, the factor which helps us choose between nursing homes and assisted living facilities is the cost.
The average cost of keeping a senior in a nursing home for a month is TWICE that of the cost at an assisted living facility. This is the clinching factor that often tilts the balance in favour of assisted living facilities.
Unless and until the elder needs continual medical support, there is no need to shift the senior to a nursing home. An assisted living facility can offer basic medical help in the form of nursing care, medication reminders, administering injections, etc. Regular health checkups, vaccination drives and doctor visits are also arranged for seniors to help them maintain good health and immunity.
Assisted living facilities are the best for offering a continuum of care for seniors in a secure and social environment. They offer timely assistance in health, hygiene and household chores while preserving the independence of the elder. They take care to maintain the dignity and self-respect of the seniors while caring for them in a comforting manner.
Seniors need love, care and attention more than anything else. An assisted living facility can offer your senior the best of these in the most affordable manner.
