Why Home Care Bests Assisted Living For Aging Loved Ones' Well-Being

The most recent AARP and other studies show that as many as 90% of seniors would prefer to age in place at home, which comes as no surprise. But ensuring adults age safely and independently at home, while being well-nourished, cared for, and engaged in the community, requires careful planning.

Whenever possible, it’s best to have these conversations well in advance of any extra support being needed, creating a long-term care plan that addresses a senior loved one's wishes, desires, and plans as they age.

In almost all cases, careful planning and preparation can ensure that loved ones remain in their own home, with additional support scaled to their needs over time. 

The Many Benefits of Aging In Place At Home vs. Assisted Living Options

There are many benefits to using a licensed home care agency to bring additional support into the home, rather than moving a loved one into an assisted living facility. However, the person who will be living at home or in an assisted living facility should always have the opportunity (whenever possible) to explore both options and get a sense of what each one would offer them, as well as what they might miss or dislike.

Here are some of the reasons why aging at home remains the preferred option for the majority of adults aged 65 and older.

1) Odds are, it’s what they prefer

There are cases where seniors prefer to move into a community setting, but in most cases, adequately downsizing and bringing services into their home is the preferred option. This keeps them in the home they know and love, with their comfortable furnishings (and beloved pets) in place, and without disrupting their social network and community.

If aging in place is the goal, we recommend taking several key steps sooner rather than later:

• Make safe, accessible modifications as needed.
• Plan ahead for transportation options (often available through caregiving agencies) if and when seniors need to turn in their keys.
• Interview licensed home care agencies before you need them to get a feel for the company culture and the types of services they offer.

By planning ahead, you’ll have all of the prospective resources at the ready when you need them.

2) Home care is more affordable than facility care

While the cost of high-quality licensed home care is high, the price tag associated with assisted living and memory care facilities is even higher. According to GenWorth, the cost of full-time (44 hours/week) in-home care services is about $8000 per month, while the price of a room in an assisted living facility costs $8500 per month, and a semi-private room in a nursing home is $12,775 per month.

Keep in mind, though, that assisted living facilities may advertise a monthly cost of $ 8,500, but this may not account for all the hidden fees, such as laundry, extra safety checks, transfers from their room to the dining area, and additional outings or field trips. 

If you’re considering assisted living and nursing home options, be sure to read the fine print so you’re not surprised when the first bill arrives with a base charge of $ 8,500, but also includes additional charges for extra services you assumed were included.

When you hire a home care provider, all of the services they provide are part of the hourly rate, including:

• Meal and snack provision.
• Transportation to appointments, social engagements, and other outings.
• Light housekeeping.
• Pet care.
• Linen changes.
• Daily hygiene care
• And so on.

We recommend meeting with a financial advisor or CPA to discuss the best ways to finance in-home care services. For many, these funds come directly from savings and retirement funds. However, there are other options available, including:

• VA benefits
• Long-term care insurance policies.
• Some life insurance policies have cash value benefits your loved one may not have known about, so bring any existing policies to the financial planner for review.
• Many seniors use reverse mortgages to fund their long-term care, allowing them to keep their checking and savings accounts relatively untapped.
• Qualifying spouses or family members may be eligible to receive compensation for their care services, thereby reducing the hours and costs associated with a professional caregiving agency.

When you meet with prospective home care agencies, ask them about some of the ways their clients fund services to learn more about your options.

3) More personalized care from trusted caregivers

Another benefit of in-home care is that the same small team of caregivers provides all of the services your loved one needs. This creates a more intimate, trusted, and personalized relationship than what clients receive in assisted living facilities, where there is a continuously rotating roster of staff that provide tasks such as toileting, bathing, changing, and the more private aspects of client care.

Our caregivers get to know our clients very well, so they become like an extended part of the family. This creates a more well-rounded and satisfying social experience, especially for seniors who live alone. This one-on-one attention also ensures we notice the signs that more support is needed over time so that services can be adjusted accordingly. 

4. Better communication between caregivers and concerned family

We mentioned above that facilities have a revolving door of employees who are coming and going, from shift to shift, daily. Most of them are truly caring individuals, but they are also overworked and have many clients to care for in the same shift. They simply can’t establish the same level of personal relationship with their clients or the clients' families.

Our caregivers provide detailed reports for each shift and are always happy to communicate with family as desired. If they notice anything that seems atypical or that deserves attention, they will communicate that so families always have their fingers on the pulse of how their loved one is doing on a regular basis.

Before Choosing Home Care Over Assisted Living Options

There are instances where home care is not the best option, depending on the specific situation.

• The home does not accommodate safe aging in place.
• Senior health and well-being depend on social interaction. If your loved one lives alone, a plan should be in place to keep them engaged with friends, neighbors, and the community. If they are just going to sit along most of the time, that is not necessarily the best or healthiest option.
• Your loved one has several friends in the same assisted living facility and wants to join them. If this is the case, you can always augment facility care by hiring a caregiver to visit them on a weekly basis.
• Health issues are such that a nursing home is the safest place for them to receive immediate or lifesaving treatments as needed.

Learn More About the Benefits of Home Care With HomeAide Home Care

Are you working on a long-term care plan for yourself or a loved one? Are there clear signs that your parent or grandparent can no longer live safely at home without additional support? 

Schedule a consultation or in-home assessment with HomeAide Home Care. We can tell you more about our services and how home care tends to outperform - and out-satisfy - assisted living options in terms of overall client well-being.