Some seniors prefer to live at home with a caretaker as opposed to relocating to a nursing home, but which is the best option for your loved one? Allow us to breakdown some of the pros and cons of in-home senior care vs. nursing home care.
In some cases, elderly patients have a poor idea about nursing homes, imagining the old and outdated ways nursing homes used to operate. Crummy nursing homes still exist, but these days there are plenty of stand-up nursing homes that provide an incredibly high quality of life.
Benefits To In-Home Care
-In-home care offers seniors the opportunity to remain in their homes and maintain their day-to-day routines. Loving where you live and feeling at home is very important to overall happiness and wellbeing.
-More flexible costs because you can control how many hours a caretaker works.
There are a number of trustworthy agencies that provide in-home care in Melbourne. You can use these services a couple times a week, or every single day. This might be a great option if your loved one doesn’t require around-the-clock care. On the other hand, hiring an experienced person to properly care for your loved one 24-hours a day can be very expensive.
Drawbacks To In-Home Care
-Can be pricey, especially if around-the-clock care is needed.
-What will you do if your caretaker up and quits on you? It happened to my grandma in the middle of the night, and I know she’s not the only one.
-Doesn’t help solve as many issues related to isolation and loneliness.
-Family members maintain more responsibility of loved one and keeping him or her busy and actively engaged with friends/the community.
-You or the caretaker must safety-proof the home to protect your loved one from things like slipping in the shower or tripping over a rug. There are Certified Aging-In-Place Specialists available for hire that come into your loved one’s home and assess overall safety. As a result, you know what needs to be fixed in order to reduce the risk of falls and other injuries.
Benefits To Nursing Homes
-Quality nursing homes provide your loved one with a safe place to live, a large pool of same-aged friends and endless activities.
-As a direct result of the above, living in a nursing home can help reduce depression and isolation, which are two leading issues amongst the elderly.
-Reduces obligations to cleaning and maintaining a home.
-Modern nursing homes are fully equipped with hotel-like amenities, including plenty of space to entertain friends and family. That means your loved one will still be able to host family gatherings, or have friends that live elsewhere over for a visit.
-Nursing homes offer access to continually ongoing activities that keep seniors busy and ultimately happier.
-There’s always someone around to assist in an emergency.
Drawbacks To Nursing Homes
-Your loved one has to relocate and move all of his or her belongings. This can be stressful and some seniors put up quite a fight about doing it.
-You have less control over how much it costs because you are not hiring someone hourly, but instead paying a flat rate fee each month.
Which Is More Expensive? In-Home Care Or Nursing Homes?
The answer to this question largely depends on the amount of care your loved one needs. If they only need a caretaker a few hours each day or once a week, it might be more cost-effective to keep them at home. On the other hand, if they require care at all hours of the day and/or night, you can expect to spend a pretty penny paying for full-time in-home care.
Nursing homes are not cheap either, and costs fluctuate based upon how much care your loved one requires, how big their room is and so forth. A nice nursing home can cost as much as $220 a day, or around $80,000 a year. That includes the cost of room and board, care and food.
Independent living homes offer some supervision and assistance while still granting residents a lot of independence. You can add on more supervised care for additional costs, or you may need to move your loved one to a more hands-on nursing home.
No matter if your loved one lives at home or in a senior care facility, he or she is going to need non-emergency medical transportation at some point in time. When the need arises, look no further than Stellar Transportation, Melbourne’s leading transportation service for seniors of all mobility, including wheelchair, walker and stretcher patients.