Imagine
this: You've spent weeks identifying your parents senior care needs and
warming them up to the idea of a little extra assistance. You've built
a consensus with your family that mom and dad do need a little care.
Then, at the family meeting you've called to discuss it, your brother
asks, "OK, so what type of senior care do mom and dad need?" And You're stumped.
There
are 8 different types of senior care available and we've helped
hundreds of DFW families navigate through them. After you've read this
article, you'll know which type is right for your loved ones.
Stay At Home Options
If your loved ones want to preserve their independence and live at home, there are four primary options available to them:
- Family and Friends Assistance.
Often the first and simplest alternative to senior care is getting
assistance from family and friends. You probably already accompany a
parent to an occasional doctor's appointment or prepare them a meal now
and again.
- Privately Hired Caregiver. Perhaps
there is someone who lives on the block and is looking for extra work
that you could hire privately. This typically can save a few dollars
per hour over professional caregivers, but also comes along with
additional responsibilities for taxes and insurance. This is a risky,
but cost-effective option.
- Professional Caregivers. Hiring reliable, dependable, professional caregivers
is the go-to solution for a lot of families. Professional caregivers
are trained, insured, bonded and licensed and (perhaps most
importantly) backed by a company that takes care of taxes, insurance,
days off, etc. Bias alert - this is the type of care HealthBridge provides.
- Adult Day Care.
These senior care centers are designed to provide community and
interaction for seniors. They do not provide one on one care, but
provide activities and interactions throughout the day. Your parents
would live at home, but spend the daytime hours at the center.
Residential Options
- Independent Senior Living.
These communities are for independent seniors who are looking for
social actives, maintenance free housing and prepared meals. These
communities do not provide care, but they often arrange for
professional caregivers to assist their residents who need care. Think
of independent senior living like an apartment community for seniors.
- Assisted Living. These communities provide activities
and meals like independent senior living, but they also provide bathing
and dressing assistance and medication management. Because of the care
they provide, Assisted Living is typically 2 to 4 times more expensive
than independent senior living.
- Residential Care Homes.
Residential care homes are middle ground between professional
caregivers and assisted living communities. They are small private
homes that have between 3-8 residents who socialize and share meals.
They also have caregivers who assist with bathing, dressing, and
medications. Residential Care Homes are typically more expensive that
assisted living communities.
- Nursing Homes.
Nursing homes are for seniors who require significant skilled care
because of an illness, chronic condition or hospital discharge.
Nursing homes have more of a "healthcare" than "residential" feel, but
they also provide the highest level of care of all the senior care
options. Care in a nursing home is paid for by Medicare for a set
period of time (usually 100 days) and is ordered and supervised by a
physician.
Not understanding the differences between senior care options could cause your senior care planning process to stall out.
Now that you understand the differences between the 8 types of senior care:
- Request a call from a HealthBridge care manager, If you identified a senior care need and would like to discuss it.
- Subscribe to HealthBridge to stay current on senior care news, tips, resources and more.