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Assisted Living Vs. Residential Care Homes

There is a lot of senior living options readily available in today’s market. It’s no wonder why it’s easy to confuse one with the other. If you’re already on the lookout for senior care facilities, then you might be familiar with the terms assisted living facilities and assisted living homes. However, do you know the difference between the two? It is necessary to understand your alternatives.

An assisted living facility is a “home away from the house” developed to supply custodial care in a setting that looks like a specific house. For the most part, residents of assisted living communities preserve a more excellent functional capability than those of enduring nursing care centers.

Assisted living facilities are a senior care option mainly produced for older people who cannot live on their own. Each center uses personal care support services, such as:

  • Bathing
  • Eating
  • Cooking
  • Toileting
  • Medication management

Assisted living facilities usually offer private or semi-private apartments that may be fully furnished along with a small kitchen area. The facility usually provides three healthy meals and snacks. Seniors can socialize and eat with other residents in a central dining room. Transportation services, social activities, and other events are scheduled to keep residents socially active. Most facilities offer essential nursing services – off-site or on-site – depending on the facility. Special care units for Alzheimer’s or dementia residents are also provided in some facilities.

Assisted living homes are perfect for seniors who prefer to live in a homey environment and do not need constant medical and personal attention. If your loved one needs 24/7 attention, only home health agencies, hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities offer this kind of service. However, this option is more expensive than other senior living facilities.

Since both residential care and assisted living to offer similar services, you may wonder how they differ. As you may have noticed, both facilities are very much alike. However, two things differentiate one from the other – the size of the facility and the cost. Assisted living facilities are typically more extensive than residential care homes when it comes to residents.

The level of care in residential care homes is more personal since one caregiver is assigned to three to four senior residents. If your elderly loved one is still active, independent living options, such as a continuing care facility, are a better choice for them.

  • Choose your locations

When a senior enters an assisted living home, their loved ones would want to visit them easily. Another perk of assisted living homes is that they are more widespread than large assisted living facilities. Larger ones tend to have a single central location, while residential care homes can be found in neighborhoods everywhere. Most, if not all, families think that location is a significant factor in selecting an assisted living facility for your loved one.

To save you time and effort, you can ask the facility to show you the survey results instead. To start looking for a licensing agency near you, you might want to get in touch with the department of aging in your state. For example, if you’re from Arizona, here is a link to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Contact or call us for any help you need with elderly care! Visit our blog for more related articles.