Long-term care can be provided in a variety of settings, which is determined by necessary level of care, financial considerations, and family/personal desire. The Caregiver Foundation meets with families and individuals to help determine long-term care plans for your loved ones. Call us today for a consultation at (808) 625-3782 or email us.
Care for you or your loved ones may include one or more of the following:
- In-home care
- Adult day care
- Assisted living facilities
- Intermediate Care OR Skilled Nursing Care facilities
- Residential Care facilities
- Continuing Care Retirement Communities
- Hospitals
- Hospice (In-home and In-Facility)
Determining the level of care you or your loved one requires is vital to determining placement and a plan of care to be received. You should also evaluate cost, location, and quality of staff and safety. You may find the Guide to choosing a Nursing Home – Long Term Care setting useful, too.
In-Home Care
You and your family may decide to care for a loved one in your own home. Discuss this with your loved one and their physician. You may wish to make an appointment with The Caregiver Foundation to organize a long-term care plan and receive resources on what to expect about the aging process and performing daily care tasks, such as bathing a parent. We also offer workshops for new caregivers.
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Adult Day Care
If you are a providing in-home care for a loved one, you may need some help during the time while you are away at work. These services provide safe spaces for your loved one to interact with others and receive assistance during the day with medication and meals.
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Assisted Living Facilities
These facilities are intended to provide long-term personal care for individuals in need of assistance with two to three activities of daily living, such as housekeeping, meal preparation, or grooming and dressing. They may also need supervision with medication management. These facilities are generally for seniors who can live independently but require minimal assistance in the form of basic medical monitoring, daily activities, and care.
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Intermediate Care OR Skilled Nursing Care Facilities
Individuals requiring assistance with three or more personal care tasks may benefit from Intermediate Levels of Care. These individuals are stable but may require daily, if not 24-hour, nursing supervision. A physician may recommend this level of care, which is less specialized than Skilled Nursing Care and generally needed long-term.
Examples of Intermediate Care needs include the following impairments: vision, communication, memory, mental status or behavior, and/or bowel/bladder. Individuals may require assistance with feeding, transportation, mobility or ambulation, bathing, dressing/grooming, and/or medication.
Skilled Nursing Care facilities aid individuals in need of procedures that must be done by a licensed professionals. These facilities are state-licensed and provide nursing and rehabilitative care under the direction of a skilled medical professional 24 hours/day. A physician may order this treatment plan for an individual.
Examples of Skilled Nursing Care needs include tracheotomy care, decubitus ulcers, wound care, catheter care, IM/SQ medications, oxygen therapy, renal dialysis, chemotherapy, gastrostomy tube feeding, and/or complex medication regimens.
Residential Care Facilities
Also known as Adult Residential Care Homes, individuals may be one of several to ten care patients in a home-like family setting. Caretakers offer food services and assistance with daily living but do not typically have a medical professional on-site. Limited, part-time medical care is offered but is not the primary focus of this type of facility. Many of these residences are located in homes and neighborhoods and provide for fewer patients than an assisted living facility. These facilities are usually more affordable than assisted living care.
Some advantages of these facilities include private or semi-private rooms, home-cooked meals, housekeeping and laundry, social programs and activities, and transportation to medical appointments.
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
Continuing Care Retirement Communities offer several levels of care: Independent living for residents who do not need personal assistance, assisted living for limited help, and short- and long-term skilled nursing and rehabilitation. The benefit of having all these levels of care in one place is in not having to move yourself or a loved one should your level of care change.
Hospitals
Inpatient hospitalization involves necessary treatment of a disease or sever episode of illness for a short period of time. Many hospitals are acute care facilities with the goal of discharging a patient as soon as they are deemed healthy and stable, with appropriate discharge instructions.
This care may also be supplemented with “palliative care,” wherein specially-trained physicians and other caregivers provide pain relief, control ongoing symptoms, and offer counseling for patients with advanced disease.
Hospice (In-Home and In-Facility)
Hospices provide supportive care to people in the final phase of a terminal illness (a life expectancy of six months or less) and focus on comfort and quality of life, rather than a cure. This care can be provided in family homes or specially-designed facilities. Some nursing homes and Adult Living Facilities allow for hospice care on their premises. This type of care can be provided in a variety of settings because it is a service, not a place, although some settings may require a room and board fee out-of-pocket, which can be costly. Medicare and Medicaid both cover hospice care.
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