Housing Options for the Elderly

There are many choices when thinking of placing your loved one in a care home environment. Consider all the needs of your loved one. Are they safe alone at any time? Do they need help remembering their medications? Are they eating well? Are they at risk of falls?
The least intrusive and life changing is living at their home. If their needs are minimal you could hire in caregivers that can help with things like laundry, meal preparation, bathing etc. The type of home helpers that don't perform any medical treatments or care do not have to be certified and cost less for that reason. But if your loved one needs a caregiver to perform treatments or therapies, or stay 24 hours, it will cost more. Here in Washington state it is average 150-240 per 24 hour shift for a caregiver. Now if your senior loved one needs a more secure environment an Assisted living community might bode well for them. Assisted living communities offer amenities such as meals served dining room style, housekeeping services, laundry and some offer medication assistance. When you visit any of these facilities be sure to have a list of your most important features that are needed. Ask questions until you are sure they have answered all that you have.
Another convenient type of facility is the Continuing Care Facilities. They offer apartment style retirement living and progress with your care needs to assisted living apartments all the way to their onsite nursing facility. This is a helpful type of community for many families because once they've placed their elderly loved one, they will not have to continually move them as their care needs progress.
A great option we have here in Washington state are what are called Adult Family Homes. They are private homes that care for the elderly and disabled. They are limited to 6 patients per home and are fully licensed and governed by the State of Washington. There are some wonderful Adult Family Homes out there. Just visit and ask questions and follow up with their inspection records with the state. These homes offer caregivers on site 24/7, medication assistance, laundry, meal preparation, treatments, therapies, activities, bathing assistance, grooming and daily care needs. Adult Family Homes can take a patient from very low levels of care needed all the way through end of life. Because Adult Family Homes are small, they offer a very intimate home like setting. Also, your loved one will not have to move several times as their care needs grow.
The last type of facility for the elderly that we will discuss are the Skilled nursing facilities. They offer higher levels of care than all the rest of the facilities. They are staffed 24/7 with nurses, CNA caregivers and offer many more types of therapies and treatments. Nursing homes also offer the convenience of a doctor on staff that takes care of all of their medical needs. Meals are prepared 3 times a day along with snacks. Bathing is done on a regular basis and medications are administered by licensed nurses.
All facilities need to be visited by you and looked over well. Check out the facility on the states website to see if and what their violations from the Health Department are. And always, always trust your gut in these matters. You want the best place for your loved one. If you have any questions please post it and we will do our best to help out. Hug a Senior!!