Ohio is beginning to revolutionize their concept of senior care. Rather than using the nursing home as the default setting for care, an effort is currently being made near Cincinnati to try and give those seniors that are more independent more of a chance to help care for themselves. A new complex with a focus on residential care is opening sometime next year. It is a skilled nursing facility, but it also combines elements of independent living and has a big focus on quality of living.
Of course, many of these issues are avoided with in-home care and assisted living, but not everyone is yet aware of this. The purpose of the new type of care is to try and take the emphasis off of the need for nursing homes by giving people a few other options. Yes, nursing homes are a necessity, but they do not need to be a default choice when it comes to getting a little extra help for your elderly parent. Hopefully, this will allow residents of Southern Ohio a chance to try and avoid this mindset and allow independent care for seniors to keep growing.
Besides being better for independent seniors, this new type of care setting will create about 90 jobs as staff will be needed around the clock. The senior care industry, in a response to meet and surpass the needs of the growing senior population, is growing quickly and becoming one of the fastest moving parts of the healthcare industry as a whole.
But, perhaps the best part about this new housing situation is the fact that their is more comfort involved. It directly acknowledges that nursing home type care is needed, while also addressing the fact that these institutions are often cold and impersonal. This is especially true of those that want to stay in their homes but are unable to, or with those that have memory impairment, such as with Alzheimer’s disease. In this regard, this home is a big step forward.
If you have a loved one in need of senior care, you do have choices. Maybe the nursing home is the best one, maybe it isn’t. Spend a couple hours and research what your options are, because alternatives like this one do exist all over the country. Even if you don’t live in Ohio, there are new types of care that will meet your loved one’s needs. In-home care is a good place to start because it is so minimally intrusive. It allows your mom or dad to be cared for in their own home with no need for relocation or any of the confusion that comes along with it. The key takeaway is that you have choices, and those choices should be used to make your parent as healthy and happy as possible. Your goal should be to provide the best care possible while also keeping your costs manageable. This is a good way to make sure that you are doing your part, and not negatively impacting the rest of your family at the same time.
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