We use the term long term care often on this website. Long term care is the catch-all phrase that covers many different aspects of senior care. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals, in-home care, and more all fit into this umbrella term for care. But short term care can also cover some of these things.
So what’s the difference?
The big difference between short and long term care is that short term care tends to be temporary. To illustrate this, let me provide an example. If an otherwise healthy older individual goes into the hospital for a procedure, there will likely be a period of time afterwards where they are not able to move around and be as active as they once were. Assuming that there will be a full recovery, a short term caregiver may be the right course of action to ensure that needs like meal preparation, help with transferring, and assistance with other daily tasks can be accomplished. These needs aren’t going to last forever, but short term care helps to keep someone safe and provided for until the needs go away.
Oftentimes, the differences between short term care and long term care are not noticeable. Sometimes short term care and long term care are provided in the same setting. Sometimes, short term care is given for a bit and then it’s determined that long term care is needed. Really, definitions are not the important thing. What’s important is that the needs are being met adequately. What it’s called is important so that you know what you are asking for, but ultimately it’s the service being provided that’s the key here.
Senior care is incredibly flexible. There are a variety of different care services, goals, and outcomes that can be achieved with senior care. Short term care is just another tool for people to use to help them accomplish what they are looking for in their senior care.
If you have questions about senior care–of any sort–we’re here to answer them. You’re not alone with these questions. We have a staff of trained professionals with plenty of field experience on hand that would love to sit with you and go over how care can help you and your family’s unique situation. There’s a lot of different aspects of care out there, and while it might seem overwhelming, it’s a very good thing. Each individual has different needs to meet with care, and this wide array of choices can help you to better meet them. But finding a starting point can be tough. That’s where our free consultation service can help.
Give us a call. We can answer your questions quickly over the phone, or go into more depth to help you get a better idea of care and what it looks like for your unique situation. Maybe in-home care is the right move for you. Maybe it’s not. Either way, the more information you have and the more you know how it applies to you and your family’s needs, the better suited your choices will be for helping those that you love.
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