Senior Living Options

Assisted Living Communities

Assisted Living is a senior living option for those with minimal needs for assistance with daily living and care. Its purpose is to help adults live independently in a safe environment with the benefit of 24-hour caregiving assistance if needed. These services may be as simple as medication management or may include some or all of the following: bathing, grooming, escorting services, special food preparation, incontinence care, and transportation to medical appointments.

• three meals, snacks
• housekeeping & laundry
• activities program
• transportation (medical & personal needs)
• 24-hour staffing

Memory Care Communities

Memory Care is assisted living for those living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Staff are trained to provide specialized care and offer specific programming designed to help residents work on their cognitive abilities. Memory care communities can include an open or secured environment, where staff can closely monitor the safety and well-being of the residents. They often have many of the same features as an Assisted Living Community to include:

• three meals, snacks
• housekeeping & laundry
• open or secured environment
• specialized activities program
• transportation (medical & personal needs)
• 24-hour staffing

Board & Care Homes

Board & Care Homes, also known as Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE), are six-bed private homes typically with a 3 to 1 caregiver-to-resident ratio and provide the highest level of care for ambulatory or non-ambulatory residents. Services may include assistance with bathing, dressing, medication supervision, incontinence care, walking, feeding, and grooming. Board & Care homes may specialize in Alzheimer’s and dementia and can accommodate those who are in wheelchairs or are bedbound. Most have a hospice waiver.

They generally offer:

• three meals, snacks
• housekeeping & laundry
• arranged transportation services
• social activities
• 24-hour staffing

Click here to view or download a Physician’s Report for Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly.

Independent Living Communities

Independent Living Communities are designed for seniors who wish to reduce the responsibilities of running a household, no longer wish to live alone, desire a socialized environment, and want a sense of security. Many of these residences offer some light assisted living services, including:

• three meals, snacks
• housekeeping & laundry
• activities program
• transportation (medical & personal needs)
• 24-hour staffing

Home Care

Home Care is supportive care for someone who prefers to stay at home but needs ongoing care that cannot easily or effectively be provided solely by family and friends. The largest segment of Home Care consists of licensed and unlicensed non-medical personnel, including caregivers and care assistants who help the individual with daily tasks such as bathing, eating, cleaning the home, and preparing meals. For patients recovering from surgery or illness, it may include rehabilitative assistance. In most cases, hourly or 24/7 home care is more expensive than assisted living and is usually privately funded, as opposed to Home Health Care (see below.) The trend of shorter hospital stays means that increasing numbers of patients need skilled services when they return home. Other patients are able to stay at home to begin with, receiving safe and effective care in the comfort of their own homes. For terminally ill patients, home care may include hospice care.

Home Health

Home Health services help adults and seniors who are recovering after a hospital or facility stay, or who need additional support to remain safely at home. These Medicare-certified services may include short-term nursing, rehabilitative, therapeutic, and assistive home health care, and are government or insurance-funded. Care is provided by registered nurses (RNs), physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), speech-language pathologists (SLPs), home health aides (HHAs), and medical social workers (MSWs) as a limited number of up to one-hour visits, primarily through the Medicare Home Health benefit. Often, the term “home health care” is used to distinguish it from non-medical, custodial, or private-duty care that is provided by persons who are not licensed medical personnel.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Continuing Care Communities (CCRCs) offer independent, assisted, and skilled nursing facilities in one location, eliminating the need for a disruptive move to a new community should an individual’s health start to deteriorate. They often can be quite large and generally require a substantial entrance fee.

Skilled Nursing

Nursing Homes, Convalescent Care, and Rehabilitation Centers are all names for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) that provide nursing care, PT/OT, speech and respiratory therapies, wound care, and post-hospitalization care. These facilities are for patients who have nursing needs are those of a medical nature i.e. require tube feeding or IV, unable to ambulate, are severely confused with Alzheimer’s Disease or terminally ill and require hospice care. They offer either short-term or long-term (custodial) care.

Hospice

Hospice services are designed to provide support to patients, their families, and loved ones at home when patients who have life-limiting illnesses choose not to seek aggressive treatment or additional caregiving support is needed on a temporary basis. For either scenario, a team of interdisciplinary professionals, which may include a medical director, attending physician, registered nurse, medical social worker, chaplain, bereavement counselor, etc., will provide palliative and comfort care, pain management, and spiritual support. Hospice is usually covered by Medicare.