As your parent ages, they will begin to have difficulties living on their own and managing daily tasks. It’s just a fact of life. It’s also an incredibly difficult decision to make. But knowing what options are available in terms of senior care can help smooth out the process and ensure you parent or loved one is taken care of to the level they deserve.
Specifically, how do you know whether your parent belongs in an assisted living environment or in more intensive nursing care?
Here are the five main categories of needs and activities we usually use as a standard for the level of care our residents receive.
Mobility
How mobile is your loved one? Assisted living residents tend to be able to get around well on their own, including with a walker or wheelchair. Our nursing care residents, on the other hand, tend to require more help getting from point A to point B.
Continence
Residents in assisted living are able to perform routine bathroom tasks alone. Help is certainly available if they need it, but if these duties are able to be performed independently in general, nursing care may be the better option.
Personal Hygiene
Similarly, assisted living residents are able to perform daily hygiene tasks on their own. Nursing care residents will receive a far more intensive level of care for their hygiene needs.
Eating
If your parent or loved one is able to move on their own and eat in a communal environment, assisted living may be the perfect choice. If not, nursing care might be more appropriate.
Medication Management
In terms of managing their daily medicine regiment, nursing care includes this as a basic service. Those in assisted living are still able to do this on their own.
This list is certainly not exhaustive. But by running through this checklist with your loved one and evaluating each point according to their abilities will give you a good starting point for deciding which level of care best fits your needs!
