The Levels of Care in Assisted Living: A Brief Guide
Deciding to move your loved one into an assisted living community is a major decision. While assisted living has numerous well-known benefits, potential residents and their loved ones often don’t realize the different levels of care in assisted living communities.
Even if you know what levels of care are available for assisted living, choosing the right path can be challenging. Fortunately, our compassionate team at We Care Senior Solutions understands these unique challenges and is passionate about helping seniors find their perfect level of care.
Below, our professionals from Boyertown’s assisted living community explain the differences in the levels of care for assisted living and which may be best for you.
Assisted Living and Personal Care
If your loved one enjoys being independent and social but needs some extra help with basic tasks like medication monitoring, bathing, dressing, personal care, and assisted living could be the ideal level of care. Residents can receive 24-hour support from community staff while enjoying their independence.
With assisted living and personal care, seniors can maintain their independence by engaging in social events with other residents and companionship with the staff. Meanwhile, the community’s team prepares healthy and delicious meals, cleans their laundry, helps monitor their medications, and assists with dressing and bathing. As a result, seniors can continue living their best lives while receiving the assistance they need.
Memory Care
Unfortunately, people often suffer memory loss as they age. While family members do all they can to help, busy schedules and personal tasks often make it difficult to give an aging loved one the care they need, especially when dealing with memory loss. Fortunately, many assisted living communities provide round-the-clock memory support.
Various forms of memory loss, such as Alzheimer’s disease, require constant care to keep the afflicted senior safe and happy. Memory support staff offer the companionship your aging loved one needs while providing essential care for their unique memory loss condition.
For example, staff helping with memory care typically help with bathing, medication, and dressing. In addition, they can help keep the seniors engaged by planning engaging activities and establishing daily routines. By providing one-on-one support, a senior with dementia can enjoy intimate companionship, valuable care, and a high quality of living.
Independent Living
This level of assisted care gives seniors the greatest amount of independence. While in an assisted living community, seniors can continue living their lives as they want while the community’s staff provides the support they need when they need it.
Residents enjoying independent living in an assisted living community can partake in social engagements with other residents while enjoying the comforts of their own space. They can also engage in numerous new experiences, allowing them to enjoy the best of their golden years, surrounded by like-minded people and a staff dedicated to supporting them when needed.
Skilled Nursing
One of the many advantages of different levels of care in assisted living communities is the wide range of assistance available, catering to seniors from all walks of life, medical conditions, and abilities. Skilled nursing gives residents specialized care based on their health and medical needs, such as post-surgical rehabilitation, cognitive management, pain management, general practitioner services, and wound care.
Whether temporary or long-term, skilled nursing gives residents and their loved ones peace of mind knowing that the community’s staff is providing essential care designed to help seniors live their lives to the fullest.
Respite Care
Respite care offers temporary care for seniors needing rehabilitation, surgical recovery assistance, or other short-term healthcare support. This form of care is also ideal as an introduction to assisted living, giving potential residents and their loved ones a glimpse of life in a senior care community. Many communities also offer trial stays, giving seniors a better idea of what life would look like in a particular assisted living community.
As a temporary form of assistance, respite care can also provide care for seniors while their typical caregiver is away. Not only does this give the caregiver time to tend to their personal life but also comfort in knowing that their aging loved one is receiving the care they need from compassionate professionals.
Home Care
Moving into an assisted living community offers residents several unique opportunities while giving them the round-the-clock care they need. However, many still prefer to live in the comfort and familiarity of their own home. In this care, home care is the best option.
With home care, seniors live in their own homes while receiving help with laundry, meals, errands, housekeeping, dressing, and other basic tasks. Home care professionals help seniors live independently while providing valuable companionship and reliable assistance.
Since seniors live in their own homes instead of a community suite or room, the costs of home care are significantly less than other levels of care in assisted living. In addition, home care professionals offer flexible schedules, so they can provide assistance a few hours a week or 24 hours per day.
How You Can Choose the Right Level of Assisted Living
As you can see, assisted living offers several different levels of care. However, determining which form of care is best for your aging loved one can be difficult.
When considering assisted living for your loved one, you must consider two primary factors: budget and level of care needed.
Generally, the more care needed, the more expensive it will be. While assisted living comes in multiple forms, you can categorize them into three different levels:
- Level 1: Little or no supervision
- Level 2: Basic hands-on help with assisted daily living tasks
- Level 3: More hands-on assistance from more than one caregiver
If you are still unsure which levels of care in assisted living are right for your loved one, reach out to our team at We Care Senior Solutions. We understand the importance and unique challenges of choosing short- or long-term care services for aging loved ones and are passionate about helping seniors and their families find the care they need.
Call us at 610-970-4200 to learn more about the differences between an assisted living facility vs. skilled nursing and which is right for your loved one in Pennsylvania.
