Before Taking That Next Step, Know The Right Path.
When it’s time to start planning for the road ahead, the amount of senior housing options in Washington state can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, many families make decisions too quickly. This is often because they are either confused by the process, or the urgency of their situation forces a quick decision before they can learn the system. The information below is intended to provide a starting point for you to understand which senior housing option is right for the aging loved one in your family. Free guidance is always a phone call away at (206) 910-8177. If you would rather have one of our professional senior housing advisors contact you personally, you can also choose to complete our 5 question housing form.
In-Home Caregiving Services
Staying in their home tends to be the preferred option for most seniors. The familiar surroundings keeps them happy and is mentally beneficial, especially to those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Before moving forward with any type of alternate senior housing it is always encouraged to first explore the options you have available to keep your aging loved one safely at home. Learn a bit more about our In-Home Caregiving Services to see if this might be a suitable option
Depending on the level of care needed, in-home caregiving services are often much more affordable than other forms of senior housing. Having a trained professional scheduled to come and help with daily tasks or even provide hands on personal care is an affordable alternative to some of the more expensive senior housing options. Staying within one’s own home has also been proven to avoid some of the depression that came come with moving to an unfamiliar place. For these reasons, it is encouraged that you fully explore the in-home resources available to your family. Call us at (206) 910-8177 or fill out our brief Contact Form to learn more.
Retirement Communities
While the services and amenities each retirement community will offer can vary greatly, the general premise is the same. Your basic retirement community is a housing complex or neighborhood designed for older adults who, for the most part, are able to live independently. Most communities allow home care agencies to come in and provide assistance to the residents as needed, and many retirement communities have a trusted agency that they refer out to the seniors within the community.
Retirement communities are almost always age-restricted, meaning that in order to qualify to live within the community you be at least a certain age. The services and activities provided by many of the communities help the seniors stay active while also maintaining a social network amongst the residents. A more advanced form of community is called a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). CCRC’s are much more expensive because they provide the housing amenities of a traditional retirement community, but also assisted living and skilled nursing services as they are needed. Below we will explore the details of both assisted living and skilled nursing facilities.
Assisted Living
Assisted living facilities are a relatively new offering for seniors, but are growing in popularity faster than any other form of senior housing. The basic structure is similar to a retirement community in that it provides housing amenities specifically seniors. Where it differs is that the seniors residing within the facility receive 24 hour supervision as well as assistance with their activities of daily living (ADL’s) as needed. Some examples of ADL’s are as follows:
- dressing
- mobility
- hygiene
- eating
- transfers
- bathing
- toileting
On top of the 24 hour supervision and assistance with ADL’s, most assisted living facilities provide daily meals, basic housekeeping, laundry, transportation, programs for exercise and health, and social activities. Compared to your basic retirement community, assisted living facilities are usually much more expensive. This is due to the requirement of the amount of staff needed to the provide the meals, 24-hour supervision, assistance with ADL’s, coordinate and implement the programs and activities, etc. Some assisted living facilities offer skilled nursing services as well.
Nursing Homes
The term skilled nursing facility and nursing home are often used interchangeably. Some of the other terms people are known to use are convalescent home, care home, rest home, or intermediate care facility. While nursing homes provide the same hands on personal care that assisted living facilities do, they differ in that they also provide a high level of medical care as well. For this reason, nursing homes represent the highest level of care a senior can receive outside of a hospital.
In order to safely provide the medical care that nursing homes offer there is a licensed physician monitoring each resident’s care, and usually a registered nurse on site at any given time. Residents usually receive services from occupational and physical therapists as needed as well. All of these medical services usually come with a lofty price tag, and limited rehabilitation stays are often covered by medicare. After roughly 100 days medicare will no longer cover the nursing home stay and the resident will then need to locate other forms of funding. While this can present a problem, a good way to be prepared is to educate yourself by exploring our page explaining methods for Paying for Care Services.
Adult Family Homes
Adult Family Homes (AFH) are private residential homes that are retrofitted to accommodate up to six senior residents. Often the homeowners will live within the house and provide care to the senior tenants, while other adult family homes will have a hired staff who is on the premises 24 hours a day. Many families prefer adult family homes over other forms of senior housing because of the warm and loving feel of the home setting.
The quality of care and environment provided varies more in adult family homes than any other form of senior housing. For this reason, it is important that you do your research and tour several facilities before settling on any one AFH. Many adult family homes vary in the level of services they are licensed to provide and can have reports against them from the department of health. Others can have a flawless record, optimal service offerings, with a friendly and well trained staff. The easiest way to locate the right adult family home, or any senior housing option for that matter, is to contact a Senior Housing Expert or to call us today at (206) 910-8177 to learn more.