Assisted Living vs. In-Home Care

If your loved one has become unable to live independently due to age or disability, you’re probably looking into options to provide them with the care they need. The two options for people who need periodic help in their everyday life – as opposed to needing serious, long-term monitoring and intensive care regiments – are assisted living centers and in-home care.

This article is intended to help you educate yourself on the differences between assisted living and in-home care so that you can choose what is best for your loved one’s situation.

Assisted Living Centers

In most assisted living centers, the person in need of care is given a private room (or shared room in some cases) in a clinical facility. While not as intensive as a skilled nursing home, assisted living centers offer immediate care whenever it is needed. It also usually includes daily, nutritionally balanced meals, medications, and laundry services.

The major drawback of assisted living centers is the expense. Most assisted living facilities offer a wide variety of care options and services that are included in the base price whether your loved one is making use of them or not – making it overall more expensive, than in-home care, in most cases.

Residents of assisted living centers also must adhere to the policies of the facility. This usually includes limited visiting hours, limited out-of-facility time, and strict schedules. Your loved one might also not be pleased with the fact that under most circumstances, they will not be able to cook or clean for themselves, which unnecessarily takes away from their independence.

In-Home Care

In-home care allows skilled nurses and aides to care for your loved one from their own home. This can be a major benefit to your loved one’s quality of life. In-home care providers will work to preserve any and all independence that your loved one has, and can be there full or part time to assist.

In-home care is also more affordable than assisted living in most cases. Because the staff of an in-home health provider is only there when they need to be, the cost of their services can be custom tailored to fit your budget. However, they can still help with other day-to-day factors of living, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, and bathing.

In-home providers are also available at a moment’s notice in case of an emergency, even if they are not scheduled to be in the home at the time. This makes in-home care a very safe and reliable source of care for the semi-independent and moderate-dependent.