Differences Between Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities
Benjamin Franklin said it best – “nothing in life is certain except death and taxes” but with daily advancements in science, technology and health care, Americans are living longer than ever before*. This blessing however, has created a unique dilemma for modern American families: How to plan for and prepare for one’s retirement years.
Have you taken a road-trip lately? Almost every highway is graced with large bill-boards providing the locations of new planned communities where couples can spend their retirement years dedicated to recreational pursuits. I doubt you will find a local newspaper that doesn’t have at least one ad promoting the amenities found at a local assisted living facility. Try to search for “nursing homes in a state” on the Internet and thousands of web pages will appear. Each and every day new facilities offering different programs are being built and marketed across the state.
Is such a facility right for you and your family? If so, which facility? We often hear the terms “retirement community,” “nursing home,” and “assisted living facility” but rarely consider what these terms actually mean. The differences however, are striking and it is imperative to understand these differences when making choices for yourself or your loved ones.
NURSING HOMES
A nursing home means any facility with the primary function of providing long-term nursing care, nursing services and health-related services on a continuing basis, for the treatment and inpatient care of two or more non-related individuals**. Put simply, a nursing home is a facility designed for someone who needs less care than a hospital, but requires daily health care assistance.
Of course, the more rules and regulations that define and control the daily operations of a nursing home, the greater the responsibility of the staff. These are the people who will be charged with the daily task of caring for your loved one, and making sure they are in compliance with state and federal laws. No matter how nice and or attractive the facility might be, the staff will make the difference between your loved one being cared for and encouraged, or not.
A nursing home is best suited for someone:
Who requires daily health care – such as assistance getting in and out of bed; taking medicine; or using the restroom.
Who may have dementia or Alzheimer’s and as a result, is unable to eat and or bathe daily without reminder or assistance;
Who is recovering from a fall or accident and is therefore unable to walk, dress and or eat without assistance
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY
“Assisted living facility” means an adult care residence to provide a level of service for adults who may have physical or mental impairments and require at least moderate assistance with the activities of daily living. Within assisted living, there are two types: regular assisted living for those seniors (typically) who need assistance with one or more daily activity; and intensive assisted living for someone who may be incapable of performing activities due to mental and/or severe physical impairment.
As reflected in the table below, assisted living facilities have no obligation to provide health care and/or have health care staff available to assist your loved one. In addition, with no obligation to provide such services, there is the question as to whether or not they owe a duty to warn or treat residents with illnesses or diseases that could be transmitted from other residents.
While a nursing home will have many nurses on staff and doctors hired to monitor the residents, assisted living is more analogous to an apartment building or college dorm where laundry and food services are provided and residents are on their own for the rest of the day.
An assisted living Facility is best suited for someone:
Who is basically independent but may not be able or willing to prepare their own food or drive to doctors’ appointments;
Someone who wants to scale back and anticipates needing assistance with laundry, cooking, etc. in the near future.
A couple where one spouse is independent but may need assistance in feeding and or providing for needs of other spouse.
CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
A Continuing Care Retirement Community provides care depending on your current needs. Like an insurance policy, the resident pays an entrance fee and periodic adjustable payments, which in turn gives the resident a package of residential and healthcare services that the CCRC is obligated to provide at the time these residential and health care services are required. For example, if upon entering, all you want is help with your meals, that is the only service which will be provided. If you require intensive physical therapy or God forbid, daily assistance for a Dementia patient, the CCRC has assisted living services or nursing home services available under your contract.
For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524
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