The number of senior care living communities is growing. With this in mind, you have to be able to decide on the kind of aged community living you wish to have for you or a loved one. To find the kind of community that best matches your present and possible future needs, it is important to understand a couple of definitions:
Independent living entails that you have your very own apartment or cottage in the community. You might prefer to eat meals in a common area and take part in social activities along with other senior retirees.
Assisted living implies that you
need services like help in dressing, housekeeping, and transportation.Nursing care is the 3rd level of senior care service and means that your physical circumstance is such that you need skilled intervention for medication and nursing services. Senior community residents needing nursing care typically live in a hospital like setting.
Residential care homes are facilities, oftentimes, actual houses, in which the staff care for a few number of residents. This family-style ambiance works particularly good for people suffering from senility, who are frequently upset by big groups. Yet another sort of home care is adult foster care, in which the elderly person inhabits with foster caregivers in the foster caregivers’ home. This service is normally managed by a state agency. All the same, not all states have such a program. Medicaid and private
insurance are the common sources for payment to the caregivers.There are numerous types of nursing homes. Some offer custodial care (room, board and minimum health care services). Some give medium care, such as bed baths and massages (nursing assistance). Others specialize in skilled nursing (nursing care available for 24 hours), which includes monitoring changes in physical condition and providing medications.
The first question you must ask is, exactly what type of service do I require right now? (A stroke might mean you need some short-term, in-home care, while recent loss of a spouse might mean you want new social opportunities that a retirement community could provide.) The next is, what sort of service might I require in the future? The 3rd question is, do I wish to stay where I am or move closer to my kids? (Being near to family is more crucial to a lot of us than staying in our homes.)
Friends, family physicians, local agencies on aging, gerontology sections of local universities, and national aged-care organizations can all advise good facilities. Much of the initial inquiry can be made through the telephone. Speak to the director or director of the senior care or retirement home facility.
© 3/3/2011 Athena Goodlight on Factoidz
