What Are My Options For Long-Term Care?
A recent article in the Jackson Sun does a good job summarizing the most common types of long-term care facilities or options, which include: nursing homes, assisted living facilities and in-home care. You can read the full article HERE but below we’ll digest some of the information for you. It’s important to understand how each of these long term care options differ, such as costs as well as the type and amounts of care one will receive at each respective facility.
Nursing Homes:
“Most people who have to pick a nursing home find out ‘today,’” she said. “It’s usually not something you think about in advance. It’s more like the hospital is telling you, ‘It’s time, and this place has beds available.’ A lot of people don’t realize they have a choice, that they can choose the facility they want.”
It is true you have a choice when it comes to finding a nursing home…most of the time. A lot can depend on where you live. Urban areas will have far more choices than a small town far away from a city. Furthermore, costs can vary drastically from one nursing home to the other.
Assisted Living Facilities
Assisted living is the choice of many persons who need help with daily living but do not need to be in a nursing home.
This is an important distinction to be aware of. Assisted living facilities are NOT the same as nursing homes.
Assisted living facilities offer three meals a day, housekeeping and assistance with activities of daily living, including help with taking medications.
In-home care
This article discusses in-home care briefly, but it’s quite specific to Tennessee. If you think you prefer, or prefer, in-home care versus say a nursing home or assisted-living facility, make sure to speak a long term care specialist who understands the differences from state-to-state.
So what does all this mean?
“It’s a big undertaking,” Scott said. “People just don’t realize, until you have to go through it, how much work it is.”
It’s very easy to put off dealing with long-term care issues until the last minute. Sometimes you don’t have a choice due to a sudden emergency, but often times there is time to consider the options for long term care. This article doesn’t even discuss long-term care insurance, which in most cases will cover a significant portion of costs incurred at a nursing home, assisted-living facility or in-home care.
