Making the decision to find senior care for a loved one can be difficult. You want to make sure that they are getting the best possible care, but you also want to be sure that you are choosing the right type of senior care solution. There are many different options available, from retirement communities to nursing homes, at-home care, or assisted living facilities. How do you know which one is the best fit for your loved one? Read on for tips on how to find the right continuing elder care solution for your loved one!
Senior Care Solutions: How to Find the Best Fit for Your Loved One
What Different Kinds of Senior Care Solutions Are There?
The good news is, as a loved one gets on in years, there are an array of options available for them to choose from that works with their needs, desires, comfort levels, and budget. In this section, we will detail some of the most common approaches families of seniors take in seeking out any assistance, added layers of security, medical attention, and more that they might need to help them get the most out of their golden years.
1. Remaining at home or living in a retirement village: For those seniors who are resistant to the idea of transitioning into an all-inclusive facility where they never have to worry about bills, cleaning, cooking, or other chores, some choose to remain at home as long as they possibly can. This can be a relatively good option for seniors who still have a high level of mobility, a good bill of health, and are open to receiving support from at-home caretakers, family, or friends. Going hand in hand with this type of aging-in-place approach may involve moving to a retirement village where neighbors, local businesses, and community service members work together to take care of each other. Typically, these communities involve some sort of HOA or annual fee that can cost $600 or more to help out with yard maintenance, accounting help, transportation for errands or activities, and more.
2. Independent living communities: Whether your loved one wants to surround themselves with other seniors in a neighborhood or apartment complex, independent living often offers campus-style accommodations where seniors can socialize together without worrying about general housekeeping chores, lawn maintenance, and the like. These communities can cost anywhere between $1,500-$10,000 a month.
3. Adult family homes: Sometimes also called “board and care homes” or “personal care homes,” these facilities are generally smaller in scale and offer custom services catering to the needs of each individual living under the roof. This is particularly helpful for seniors with more specific needs—and they are generally considered less expensive than nursing homes.
4. CCRCs or Continuing Care Retirement Communities: These sorts of living communities offer a mixture of nursing attendance, assisted living, and independent living. One of the primary benefits of this type of facility is that as seniors’ needs develop or increase, they can still remain in the same community, just move into different circles of care, providing them with stability and negating the worry of moving to more intensive care down the road. This is one of the reasons why this type of facility is the most expensive available today.
5. Assisted living centers: Definitely more affordable than a CCRC, this type of housing situation is best suited for seniors who still have some mobility and can take care of themselves relatively independently—though some assisted living facilities do offer higher levels of service than others.
6. Skilled nursing care: Sometimes called a “nursing home,” these facilities offer continuous, around-the-clock medical care for seniors with more advanced health management needs—including mental illnesses or other disabilities. If your loved one experiences a condition like dementia or Alzheimer’s, this can be a great solution for them—as most offer some kind of memory care service. Staffing consists of licensed physicians, nurses, physical therapists, and other types of medical personnel. These do tend to be more expensive than regular assisted living facilities due to the level of 24/7 care.
How to Decide Which Continuing Elder Care Solution Is Best
With so many different types of facilities to choose from—not to mention a number of competing local agencies within each category of care center—it can be overwhelming to try to find the right match for your loved one.
The first thing you should keep in mind when working towards finding a safe place for your elder is honoring their wishes—while also honoring their needs. Some seniors find the idea of this significant lifestyle change to be challenging and feel some resistance to it; this is normal and completely expected. The best you can do as their support system is to find them a community where they will not only be cared for by the best staff available, fed nourishing meals, and provided enrichment activities—but also where they will be most likely to make meaningful connections and friendships with their peers.
However, determining this can often take hours of painstaking research, touring each facility, and speaking endlessly with management about everything from their company ethos to services rendered—a process that can take weeks, if not months, of constant diligence. Not every family member has the time to devote to this process—and not every senior has the physical mobility to tour multiple facilities. So, is there a faster, easier way to gather this information?
Fortunately for the average family member trying to take the best possible care of their beloved senior all while juggling careers, bills, mortgages, and even child-rearing, there is a way to streamline this process: enter the senior placement agency.
Why Go Through a Placement Agency?
While it is not strictly speaking necessary to work with a senior placement agent, doing so can save you countless time and headache. Not only will a senior placement agency be well-connected within the caregiving community and be able to provide all the relevant information on the area’s local senior communities. The role of a senior placement agent is to listen to the needs and wants of the senior and their family, and, working with their budget, help them to find the best possible fit out of all available options. In summary, working with a senior placement agency can help you and your family quickly go through the list of options based on budget, needs, and amenities until you land on one that is right for your loved one. For more on the benefits of working with a senior placement agency, read our recent article on the matter!
Senior Care Solutions at Passionate Senior Placement
Here at Passionate Senior Placement, we understand this can be an overwhelming chapter for the whole family—not just the senior involved. With so many different types of facilities to choose from, each with its pros and cons, not to mention the added complications of budgeting, continuing health insurance, and legal paperwork, it can be helpful to work with a professional senior placement advisor to guide you through the process and make it as smooth as possible! If you’re looking for the fastest, most comprehensive way to find the right senior care facility for your loved one, you will likely benefit from working with a placement firm.