When an elderly person needs more care than a family can provide, loved ones may have to choose between home healthcare and fulltime assisted living villanova. The best choice between these two choices really depends upon preferences, budgets, and how much care the elderly person requires.
Assisted Living vs. Home Healthcare
For many families, the choice may boil down to the cost. Naturally, costs vary because of location, facility, and the type of services that the elderly person needs. This comparison will use the Genworth study that found average U.S. costs for fulltime home healthcare were about $3,500 a month. In comparison, home healthcare averaged about $20 an hour.
With these figures, it would take about 175 hours of home care a month to equal the cost of a residential facility. If the senior requires fulltime supervision, an assisted living home will obviously work out to be much cheaper. In addition, residential facilities also provide room, board, and typically, some activities. If the elderly person only requires a few hours of assistance each day, home healthcare should cost less.
In some cases, family members may decide to use local adult daycare services or their own services to reduce the cost of home healthcare. In addition, residents of assisted living facilities may still require some additional healthcare services that aren't provided by the facility. These could include therapists, skilled nurses, and so on. It isn't possible to really reduce this choice to a mathematical formula that applies to every senior citizen and every family.
Most Families Don't Decide Between Home Healthcare and Assisted Living Solely on Price
Anybody who needs to decide between home care and assisted living will need to do cost comparisons for their unique situation. Costs for any type of service will vary by the location and many other factors. The loss of income that family caregivers may have to sacrifice is another example of something that needs to get considered.
Also, most families won't make a decision based solely on price. If the costs are fairly close, they will consider their own preferences and that of their aged family member. In some cities and towns, community organizations may help fill in some gaps in care by providing low-cost services. Individuals and families without the funds to pay for senior care may qualify for federal, state, or local programs that can help. Anybody with an aging loved one should do some research on the best and most sensible ways to care for their family member.
