It is good to have options as we grow old. While in the past, the choice was between staying at home or going to a nursing home, there are plenty of alternatives nowadays.
Seniors can opt for at-home care, independent living, assisted living, nursing home, and even rehabilitation and nursing care, depending on their needs and personal preferences.
Growing old typically means we need more assistance, even if it’s minimal. Help with transportation, moving around, or remembering medication is often necessary.
Another need that frequently pops up is the desire to maintain a social life. Seniors who are recently widowed and people who live alone may find socializing hard as they grow older. Physical and mental issues can isolate seniors and make them feel lonely.
Putting all these needs together, seniors often find assisted living the optimal balance that satisfies their feeling of independence and provides the necessary care.
What Is Assisted Living?
Assisted living communities have been built to help seniors with activities of daily living while still giving them the freedom they require.
In assisted living communities, residents have their apartments, but there are communal dining areas and organized activities where they socialize. Nursing personnel is available on a 24-hour basis to help residents with bathing, dressing, grooming, laundry, light housekeeping, and medication schedule.
Assisted living offers seniors the best of both worlds. On the one hand, residents maintain their autonomy and independence, which gives them a sense of freedom. On the other, there is on-site nursing help and support to provide any necessary assistance. This provides a feeling of security that residents and their families greatly appreciate.
What Is Home Care?
One or many individuals provide home care to help seniors continue living in their homes.
Seniors stay in their homes and hire home care to help them with shopping, cooking, bathing, and housekeeping if they need assistance. Home care also provides medical services with medication reminders and chronic disease management.
Home care personnel are professional caregivers, so they must have the right qualifications and licenses for medical assistance.
The main difference between home care and assisted living is that home care is provided at home while the senior must move into an assisted living community in the case of assisted living. Seniors may also need more contact with their peers and have a more limited social life.
Assisted Living or Home Care?
Level of Assistance
To understand if assisted living is right for you, you must first consider how much assistance you require and your budget. People who need daily help with activities often find home care more expensive. Assisted living often includes many services in their monthly charge.
At-home care requires professional caregivers to stay longer to provide adequate assistance and support.
Assisted living offers a home and professional caregivers on a 24-hour basis. There is a sense of safety and security in knowing that your health and well-being are taken care of, and you don’t have to fear being alone during a health or other emergency.
If you want 24-hour assistance at home, you must hire several caregivers.
Living in a Safe Environment
Most people like the safety and coziness of their own homes, which is why home care is often their first choice. However, our mobility decreases as we age, and we become prone to accidents.
Seniors living at home must remodel their homes to accommodate their mobility issues. That includes handlebars, wider corridors, brighter rooms, and other safety issues.
Assisted living communities have been designed from day one to cater to seniors. They have wide corridors, large openings, handlebars, and several safety precautions in the bathrooms, rooms, and communal areas.
Unless you are willing to completely remodel your home to make it safer for you and your loved one, assisted living provides a safer environment.
Socializing and Community Feel
The most important advantage of living in an assisted living community is the community that surrounds you.
Such communities have been built to help residents socialize and mingle together. Plenty of organized activities let residents spend time together, engage with each other, and share their time according to their interests.
From religious activities to games, reading, music, gentle sport, and arts, seniors have plenty of opportunities to spend their time in a fun way, surrounded by like-minded people.
On the other hand, home care is more personalized and solitary. Unless you have friends and family visiting daily and spending quality time with you, you may soon find it lonely. You can arrange for your professional caregiver to take you to activities to meet up with other people, but this is more spontaneous and challenging to arrange than it is in an assisted living community.
While a home setting is people’s first choice, they often realize the benefits of living in an assisted living community and feel at home within a few weeks once they adjust to life there. After that, the assisted living community becomes their home, and they make friends with other residents.
Assisted Living Is More Cost-Effective than Home Care
Assisted living is more affordable than home care, particularly for round-the-clock care. Assisted living covers various services through the resident’s monthly charge. They also provide 24/hour help and assistance in case of emergency. Also, you may be able to cover the cost of assisted living with Medicaid and Texas’ Star Plus+ program.
The same level of service for home care would require a substantially higher budget. You would need to pay more to enjoy the same comforts and caretaking. You would also have to hire several professional caregivers to help with all aspects of home care.
Keeping Track of Caregiving
In an assisted living community, you are not responsible for keeping track of caregivers. Everything is managed optimally with your well-being at heart.
While home care is more personal, that is also its potential complication. You are responsible for managing all caregivers, arranging their schedules, handing out tasks, etc. If backup care is necessary, you must make arrangements, often by including family members.
Assisted Living for Better Living at St. Dominic Village
Assisted living is a great way to enjoy independence, autonomy, and privacy within a protected environment while enjoying 24-hour senior care.
Assisted living communities have private apartments, communal areas, and caregiving personnel. This arrangement works wonderfully for seniors who require a little assistance with everyday activities but also refuse to relinquish their sense of freedom and desire to enjoy life on their terms.
St. Dominic Village is a senior care facility offering all residents physical and spiritual wellness. Call now at 713-741-8701 to arrange a visit or schedule a tour online and let us answer all your questions!