subject: Is In Home Elder Care Best For Your Family? [print this page] With a larger elderly population than ever before, more and more people are having to confront the choice of which type of senior care they want for their aging loved one. In general, there are three routes you can take; send them to a nursing home, become their primary caregiver yourself, or hire an in home care agency. Which of these choices is best for your family? Let's examine the positives and negatives of each.
Nursing home care is fairly well-known, and most people have a pretty good idea of what to expect from a large medical facility. The care in a nursing home is fairly predictable-the nurses are there on site all the time to take care of their elderly patients. Furthermore, the elderly living there will usually stay there for the remainder of their lives, because they have generally moved out of their home and it is either sold or occupied by another family member.
Senior care assisted living in a nursing home can work for some families, but it has 3 big drawbacks:
1. It's Expensive: Because the aging client is living on site and receiving round the clock elder care, nursing homes tend to be very costly. It's not unusual for the cost of a nursing home to eat up all of a person's assets in just a couple years.
2. It's Impersonal: Large medical institutions by design are usually cookie cutter-style operations. What this means is the individual needs of the patients are not always addressed the way they should be.
3. Clients Generally Don't Like It There: Because of factor #2, and because the client is forced to leave their home and familiar surroundings, they are generally quite unhappy living in a nursing home. Having a member of the family become the primary caregiver and administer the senior care can work for some people. But the key here is that there is a member of the family that is qualified and able to handle the stress of performing elder care without it straining the relationship with their aging loved one. The reality is it can be difficult to find someone in the family that is right for this role.
In home care from a senior care agency is a fairly new option that is becoming more common throughout the U.S. It attempts to combine the best of the other 2 choices by allowing the senior to remain in their home, but also receive elder care and/or assisted living from a qualified health care professional.
Aside from allowing the client to remain at home, another advantage that in home elder care has over a nursing home is more individualized care. With in-home care, the nursing professional administers one on one care and is able to spend the amount of time needed to make sure their patient is well cared-for. This level of quality is tough to find in a major medical institution.
In home senior care is cheaper than a nursing home, but it can still get costly depending on the level of service required. Is it right for your family? If you don't have a qualified family member that can administer the elder care and you have the budget, then in home senior care may very well be your best option.
by: Jason Lom
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