Alternatives to the Nursing Home

There are a lot of different alternatives to the nursing home, but many people give the bulk of their attention to nursing homes. This is how it has been for quite a while. Nursing homes have the potential to do a lot of good as they provide skilled nursing level care in a safe, supervised setting.

But they also have a history of being overused. A lot of people that have received care in the nursing home setting haven’t necessarily needed this higher level of care. Luckily, the nursing home alternatives are getting more and more attention. This has been one of the few good things to come out of the pandemic. It has shed a light on alternative methods of care.

Here are a few other types of care out there, along with a brief description of how they might help.

The nursing home model of care is important, but it’s not the only type of care out there.

Assisted Living: Assisted living care is given in a residential setting, kind of like a nursing home. However, the level of care given is much less as there isn’t a medical element to it.

In-Home Care: In-home care is given in the home, just like the name suggests. Typically, it is non-medical in nature, but it can have a medical component to it if needed. In-home care is provided in a one on one setting by a professional caregiver. It allows the older loved one to stay in their home but still get the help that they need. The amount of care given can be customized to meet the individual’s needs.

Co-Living: Some seniors choose to form their own communities. This happens more and more than it used to, and that’s a good thing. By creating natural communities, seniors can help each other out and live with peers in an informal setting.

Hospice Care: Hospice care focuses on palliative care for those that are nearing the ends of their lives. Typically, hospice care looks to treat those that are in the last six weeks of their life by working with them in a place where they can be made as comfortable as possible. It can be provided in a residential or at home setting.

In all reality, the nursing home is right for a lot of people. However, in the past nursing homes have been overused. There are a variety of reasons why this has happened; insurance companies have prioritized nursing homes over other types of senior care in the past, people have been unaware of other care options, and nursing homes have historically been easier to access than some of the other types of care out there. But these ways of thinking about care are not as prevalent now as they were even just a few years ago. 

What works best for your family? I don’t know the answer to that question. But you might. After all, you are a far greater expert when it comes to your own family than anyone else can be. What works best for you won’t necessarily be what’s best for everyone else.

There are lots of choices out there, this is just a brief list of what’s out there. If you’d like to learn more about care, get in touch with a care professional near you to get started.