Tough Decisions: What To Consider When Deciding Between A Senior Home And In Home Care

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Facing the disheartening prospect of enrolling our loved ones in a senior home is never easy. Assisted living, while in most case, more than adequate, lacks a certain something that in home care can provide in spades: a personal touch. Not just figuratively, but literally as well, in home care is provided by a small handful of senior care professionals who get to know their client on a personal level. Senior care in a facility is provided by a large staff of sometimes hundreds. While assisted living is sometimes the best option for the safety and well-being of your loved one, an often overlooked option is in home care.

The breakdown.

The most concise way of breaking down the advantages and disadvantages of assisted living and in home care is a simple pro versus con list. In the pro column for assisted living, we absolutely cannot deny that they have a crack team of professional, specially trained medical caregivers that truly care about each and every patient they handle. In the con column, however, we must understand that they are sometimes understaffed, meaning they have ...
... only a short amount of time they can spend with each individual, and they each have many individuals to attend. In other words, they simply can’t dedicate the entirety of their attention to one individual patient’s needs. This is a major cause of frustration from the patient, and often exacerbates the condition of the patient in question, especially those afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia.

In home care, conversely, has a nearly complete transposition of the aforementioned pros and cons. With in home care, you get a highly qualified, specially trained senior care person who can dedicate the entirety of their attention to a single individual’s needs. An in home care specialist can be present for your loved one in their home, where they are comfortable. They have the time for a conversation, to listen, or even just sit and watch television, and when their patient wants to get up out of that chair they’ve had for forty years, an elder care professional can be there to help them. They get to know the individual habits and routines of their patient. They are not, however, always able to provide medical support. This is the major difference.

In short: You have to weigh the needs of the individual’s physical well-being against the potential for emotional distress. If there’s no need for constant supervision for medical reasons (stroke, seizure, high fall risk, etc,) then in home care might be the best options, since it provides a caring, watchful eye while disrupting your loved one’s life in the least amount. If, however, there are major medical concerns, you may want to consider an assisted living facility. If this is the case, you will want to do research, and tons of it.

Kris Leeds is a freelance writer for Visiting Angels, a leading provider of senior care services. For more information about assisted living and other services, please visit Visiting Angels online.