How to Choose Between Home Care and Assisted Living
When a parent, spouse, or loved one develops extensive care needs, you may find yourself weighing out the different options. In-home care and assisted living are the two main options for intensive care needs. According to the American Health Care Association, there are 800,000 Americans residing in assisted living facilities today. There are a few important factors to consider as you determine which is best for your loved one. Keep reading to learn more.
How Much Care Is Needed?
The first thing to consider will be the amount of care that’s going to be needed. Your loved one’s physician and specialists should be able to help advise you on this point. Evaluating the care needs can help you realistically determine how much assistance can be given by those already living in the home or how much outside care would need to be recruited. Making a list of everything the individual needs on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis is a good place to start. You can then systematically evaluate how each need can be met and what the best method of meeting that need is.
What Are the Key Differences Between In-Home Care and Assisted Living?
It’s also important to fully understand the differences between these two types of care. In-home care usually consists of a professional care assistant coming into the home on a daily or weekly basis to provide certain care tasks. In-home care is often an option if the individual doesn’t need 24/7 medical monitoring. Some families opt for 24/7 in-home care if finances allow, regardless of the intensity of needs.
What’s the Financial Situation?
In a perfect world, everyone would get the care they need despite finances, but we don’t live in a perfect world and there are the constraints of money that will affect the type of care you choose. You’ll want to take a realistic look at the budget you have to work with and then compare the expenses of different services available. Keep in mind that different service providers will offer different prices so it’s a good idea to compare prices before making a final decision.
These are just a few factors you should consider when deciding what type of care will work best for your loved one. If you’re looking for care options, please contact 7 Day Home Care today.
