Difference Between Assisted Living and a Nursing Home
 

What is the difference between assisted living and a nursing home? Aren't they just the same?

RE:
 

Well the difference is the kind services they provide. In an assisted living facility residents are given assitance with their day to day activities like laundry, meals, transportation and others. While in a nursing home they are given 24 hour care by licensed medical staff like nurses. Because residents of nursing homes are more like with illnesses that need daily medical assistance. But both of these can be covered if you have purchase a long term care insurance.

I think assisted living people are more mobile, can take care of themselves to a degree, go on outings, can go outside themselves on premise versus nursing home you're more confined to which room and fl your in, probably need more assistance.

Brenda, Assisted Living is for people who need custodial care such as meds, meals, bathing, dressing, etc. It is self-pay and VERY expensive, usually starting at around 5K or more. I have seen where a patient needed short-term physical therapy and an outside agency came in to do it--if the patient had insurance, the company would be billed.

Nursing homes are for skilled care only. The patient must have a medical condition requiring nursing, physical therapy or occupational therapy, or respiratory therapy. Payment is self-pay, Medicaid/Medicare and long-term care insurance.

Look at it this way:

ASSISTED LIVING NURCING HOME HOSPICE


In that order.

Assisted Living and Nursing Homes can both have people on hospice.

It was explained above. Assisted Living is a more home like environment where people have mobility, even with walkers and wheel chairs, and can get to their meals, enjoy the entertainment, and function either on their own or with the assistance of a caregiver. Meals are provided and there is a base fee for living, and then up charges for care. The levels of care and extent of care allowed to be offered by the Assisted Living are determined by the State, such as if Memory Care is provided, or a particular level of nursing, medication management, care of wounds and to what level. Assisted living is not a medical model. Residents are not to be bed bound unless for a short term, like a week, due to an illness. There is not round the clock nursing care in assisted living, it is more of a social model. You are charged depending on the type apartment you have and the level of care you need.

In a Nursing Home, it is a medical model. There is a large nursing staff; there are doctors who are part of the team. Residents can be bed bound and on full nursing care round the clock. Medicare will cover nursing home care if needed for usually 90 days or so. If a person cannot privately pay, there are facilities where Medicaid will pay and they are not usually as elegant as the private pay nursing homes. Nursing homes do not charge by level of care, there is a daily rate no matter your needs. It can run $10,000 a month and up.

People who need assistance with their activities of daily living but are otherwise carrying on in their daily lives would choose assisted living. People who need full time nursing availability because of wounds, illness, incapacitation, failure to thrive, inability to be mobile, or who have advanced Alzheimer's would most likely be in a Nursing Home

Assisted living can have stages of care..from an apartment with little or no interference from staff, to helping with some everyday things...we have facility's that you buy the apartment and as they need more help are moved to the next level of care

In home care
 

Thank you for the explanation. My mother that lives with me at 95 yrs old is very, very sharp and have her mind. I would need someone to cover me some times. She is able to get around in her walker but I would lime to go to GA and visit my Son. I have had Mother for over 9 1/2 years so I don't have any ideas what it would cost to have some one cone here. Mother can do her own thing if I have food arranged and she just have to heat it up and needs helps with her bath a couple times a week. Trying to finding here if there are qualified individuals to do this for me? ??????? thank you!