The Problem with Assisted Living
You’re probably under the impression that assisted living centers are a wonderful alternative to nursing homes. This may be true in some cases, but on average it can be very much the same. Assisted living centers are often a part of a large health corporation – and large corporations have the unfortunate habit of looking at people like products.
All assisted living centers, especially large ones, shell out a vast amount of money for upkeeps and employee salaries. These costs fall on their residents and family members mostly. But, obsession with the bottom line can often lead to a sub-par care cycle that can be neglectful, and even dangerous, to your loved ones.
Common Complaints About Assisted Living Centers
There are many complaints about assisted living facilities, but some of the most common are:
- The Expense – The national average for staying at an assisted living center is about $2,000 per month. This varies greatly from facility to facility, and may even cost as high as $6,000 per month.
- Rising Prices – Assisted living has a nasty habit nation-wide of raising prices substantially after only a few months. The reasons they cite for this is raising overhead costs, such as employee salaries and medication rates. The truth of the matter is, it is usually due to the fact that all of their rooms are full and they no longer need to appeal to new clients.
- Impermanence – While the manager of an assisted living center may lead you to believe that your loved one will live out the rest of their years in their facility, the truth is that on average a resident is only at an assisted living facility for two to six months before being moved to a nursing home.
- Neglect – Due to understaffing, a common practice to reduce costs, your loved one rarely gets the level of care they are promised. This is especially true at night when sometimes only one nurse is on duty to care for dozens of residents.
- Professionally – While an assisted living center may say that they only hire trained nurses – and this may even be true – some nurses and assistants may only have a few weeks of classes, making them severely under-qualified to care for residents.
As mentioned, these are only a few complaints. There are many more that range from minor inconveniences to major (sometimes even fatal) neglect and abuse.
A Great Alternative to Assisted Living
In-home health care providers are available to offer their services to your loved ones in their own homes. In-home providers can offer as much or as little care as is necessary. Customized care plans encourage your loved ones to remain independent while making sure they are safe and taken care of.
In-home health offices have much less overhead to begin with, which usually makes their services substantially less than other senior care options. Due to the requirements of home health aides working alone, they usually have much more training than traditional nursing facility staff.
