How Will Assisted Living Help My Parent?

It's not easy but the time will come when they have to decide if your parent needs to have help with their daily activities. If your parents don't need full assistance you won't want to put them into a nursing home. With an assisted living facility your parent or parents will be able to live a bit more independently but will get help with such things as eating, bathing, laundry, dressing, and medication.

These assisted living facilities also have medical care centers in the same building. However it may only be for the small problems and a regular doctor or hospital may have to be visited for the larger problems. When you put your parent into the assisted living facility a plan will be made that will detail the specific things that your parent may need help with. This will also ensure that your parent will receive the correct care that they need. Other names may be used for assisted living facilities, like residential care, supported care, board and care, adult foster care, sheltered housing, and adult homes.

Don't think of assisted living as a nursing home because it is not. In a nursing home your parent will have a lot less freedom. A lot of people think that assisted living is the same as a nursing home. However nursing homes are used for people who can't care for themselves or are too sick or frail to be in an assisted living facility. Where assisted living is used for a person who is more or less capable of taking care of them selves but may have problems in a few areas of taking care of themselves.

Most of the time a facility may have not only assisted living but also independent living and nursing home facilities all in one, this way a person can move to the different areas when they become worse and need to receive more care. Or a person from the independent living may be moved to assisted living when they aren't able to do all things anymore. When these facilities are combined a person can take advantage of services such as meals that may be prepared in a cafeteria.

If you put your parent or parents into a facility you will find that you have a choice of three types of contracts. They are extensive, fee for service, and modified. The three choices all include shelter, services, emergency care, and amenities. The difference in the contracts will be the fees per month. While if you choose the extensive contract it will include long-term care, and no increase will be notice in your monthly fees. While a modified contract will cover only specific things, while fee for service is as it sounds you will be charged for the different services that are used on your parent or parents.

This is never an easy choice as your parents get older to make but when you begin to notice that your parent seems to be having more problems with some of the daily things they need to do you will need to make that choice. At least with putting them in an assisted living facility you will give them sort of freedom but still gives them the help they need. Some parents may be a bit argumentative when it comes to placing them in a facility but all you need to do is be persistent and understanding and do what is correct and right for them.