Learn about the differences between senior living communities and live-in home care for the elderly; which is best for you or your elderly loved one?
What Is Live-In Home Care For The Elderly?
The elderly need care at higher rates than younger people. There are many young and middle-aged people who live with disabilities that benefit from receiving care, but the majority of care recipients are elderly. These seniors can receive care in a senior living community or they can have a caregiver visit them in their own home and provide them with care. Sometimes a senior’s needs are such that they require access to care 24/7. For such seniors, live-in care can provide them with the assistance they need.
Live-in home care involves a caregiver moving into the elderly person’s home and living with them. With this arrangement, the caregiver can work fulltime hours and provide care throughout the day to their client. They don’t work 24 hours a day, of course, but their presence in the house means that the client will never be far from assistance. If an elderly person is at risk for falls or other sudden health incidents, live-in care can save them a lot of hours in distress, and possibly even save their lives.
What Is A Senior Living Community?
A senior living community is a large building or series of buildings in which seniors live. There are different types of these communities, including nursing homes, assisted living communities, retirement homes, and specialized communities, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia care homes. Retirement homes, also called independent living communities, generally don’t provide care directly to their residents. Rather, they provide them with a convenient place to live where they can socialize with other seniors, and where they don’t have to bother with certain chores and maintenance tasks.
Nursing homes and assisted living communities do provide care to their residents. Nursing home residents typically have high level needs and are usually unable to make significant decisions regarding their care. Assisted living balances care with the autonomy of their residents. The right senior living community for you or your elderly loved one depends on your/their needs and preferences.
Which Is Better?
So, what’s better for the elderly? Live-in home care or a senior living community? It depends on the situation. If an elderly person has an extra room in their home and if their family can arrange a schedule with the caregiver to allow them their own free time while maintaining care for the client, then live-in home care works great.
Executive Home Care
To learn more about senior living communities, live-in home care, or any other care services for the elderly, please contact us via our website or call (888) 963-9133.