Home care is an excellent solution for older adults who need a little extra support to live independently at home. However, it is common for home care services to become too expensive to be sustainable, especially as chronic needs or complex medical conditions require additional hours of service from a home care agency. Fortunately, there are senior living options that can ensure your loved one continues to get the support they need. 

Senior living communities are all unique, but it can be helpful to learn about how the different types of care might or might not be appropriate for your loved one during their transition from home care to residential care. Here, we explore the different types of senior living options and why someone might choose each one.

Assisted living

Assisted living communities are residential care facilities that provide 24-hour caregiver oversight in addition to amenities and services designed to enhance wellness. Assisted living is an excellent solution for older adults who need some support with a few activities of daily living (ADLs), such as grooming, showering, dressing, eating, ambulation, transferring, or toileting. An all-inclusive lifestyle is also a highlight, often with housekeeping, maintenance, and even transportation services included in the monthly fee. 

Assisted living communities typically offer:

• Caregivers on-site around the clock.
• Personalized support and care based on an individualized service plan.
• Nurses on staff to assist with medication management, emergencies, and physician communication.
• Events and activities held daily, including in the evenings and on weekends.
• Chef-prepared meals served three times daily in a social dining room setting. (Meal services and dining programs differ from state to state and community to community. You’ll want to check with the facility to learn whether and how often they serve meals and snacks.)
• Laundry services. (These services often come with an extra fee. Check with each community to learn their policy and laundry services fee schedule.)
• On-site visiting physical and occupational therapists.
• Shared community spaces that might include a library, living room, nature trails, outdoor patio, gazebo, and more.

Why move to assisted living after home care?

The transition from home care to assisted living is often quite smooth, in part due to the similarities of the services provided. Most adults transition from home care to assisted living due to needing more hours of home care oversight and support. For many families and senior budgets, around-the-clock or live-in home care is simply too expensive to be sustainable. If your loved one is in this situation, assisted living can offer around-the-clock support and oversight in addition to more amenities and services not available with home care.

You might also find that your senior loved one is lonely and isolated while living at home. Even if they have a friendly home care caregiver stopping by daily, these visits are not a substitute for connections with peers. Social isolation and feelings of loneliness are common among older adults, especially those who live at home alone. Being isolated from peers can lead to serious health complications, including a higher risk for anxiety and depression, heart disease, obesity, and more rapid cognitive decline. Assisted living communities are designed to create opportunities for meaningful peer connections, whether neighbors attend an exercise class together or meet up at the dining room table for a meal.

Memory care

Memory care is a specialized type of senior care created especially for those living with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia. This type of care can be provided in stand-alone memory care communities or in dedicated memory care wings of assisted living communities or nursing homes. The environment itself is designed to enhance comfort while meeting challenges that can come with cognitive decline, and staff are specially trained in best practices for dementia care. The daily routine of the community mimics familiar rhythms, which can decrease the anxiety and restlessness that can come with dementia.

Memory care communities are staffed 24/7 with experienced and specially trained caregivers. In addition, nurses are available to assist with health monitoring, medication management, emergency response, and physician communication. A social worker is also commonly on staff to support residents and their family members. 

Other amenities and services often available in memory care communities include:

• Chef-prepared meals served three times daily in a social and comfortable family dining room setting. (Check with the facility to learn about their specific meal offerings.)
• Prescribed diets and other adaptive dining interventions available for residents who need extra support.
• Events and activities that occur daily, including evenings and weekends.
• Family night events and educational opportunities.
• Assistance and support individualized based on resident abilities and the progression of dementia.

Why move to memory care after home care?

Dementia is a progressive condition, which means it gets worse over time. While a home care provider can give occasional oversight and support with ADLs for someone in the early stages of dementia, it is common for seniors with dementia to eventually need 24-hour oversight for safety and engagement as they move into the middle and late stages of the condition.

Memory care communities provide a safe environment, oversight, and assistance in addition to care and activities specifically designed for those with cognitive decline. These specialized communities also provide a routine, which can decrease the anxiety and restlessness that often accompany the disease. In addition, specially trained staff ensure personalized interventions occur at any time of day or night so that your loved one can feel safe and calm.

Nursing home care 

Nursing home care, also referred to as skilled nursing care, is a senior living option that provides support that is more clinical in nature. Nursing homes provide around-the-clock care from both nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) for seniors with more complex care and medical needs or chronic conditions.

Nursing homes are known for their skilled care capabilities, which may include wound care management, IV management, and chronic disease management. They also offer inpatient therapy services for short- and long-term rehabilitation needs. 

Other services and amenities in these communities can include:

• Chef-prepared meals served three times daily in the dining room, with special attention to preferred and prescribed diets, including mechanical soft diets.
• Activities and events scheduled daily, including nights and weekends.
• Private or semiprivate rooms.
• Nurses on staff 24 hours a day to assist with emergency response, acute medical care, medication management, and physician communication.
• Events and educational opportunities, including those that involve family.

Why move to a nursing home after home care?

If your loved one has significant personal care needs that require around-the-clock or live-in home care, it may become too expensive. If they have a complex medical condition that requires skilled care interventions, nonmedical home care services cannot provide that type of acute support. Home health care services can provide medical support to your loved one for some time, but around-the-clock medical home health care can become expensive quickly. A move to a nursing home environment is often the best decision based on safety and medical needs.

Continuing care retirement community 

A continuing care retirement community (CCRC), sometimes called a life plan community (LPC), is a senior living option that offers multiple types of senior care — independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing — all on one expansive campus. CCRCs are a popular choice for adults who want to be assured they will be able to receive the support they need as their needs change without having to move to a different senior living community.

Why move to a continuing care retirement community after home care?

A move to a CCRC might be a good solution for your loved one if they have a medical condition that may cause them to decline over time. Instead of finding home care agencies that can increase hours or levels of care as your loved one’s needs increase, a continuing care retirement community can provide ongoing care and support while forecasting what might be coming next for your loved one based on their history and diagnosis.

CCRCs are also, like many other senior living options, a good solution for someone who feels isolated, overwhelmed by caring for the home, or unstimulated in the home environment. These communities provide amenities and services that can help older adults live maintenance-free, socially active lives.

Choose the right senior living option after home care

Home care services are an excellent solution for many seniors who want to stay at home for as long as possible. However, costs, safety, socialization, and increasing needs might create a situation where a residential facility is the better (and sometimes less expensive) senior living option. Knowing how the different amenities and services available at each community align with your loved one’s needs will help you make the right choice so they can live a safe, healthy, and fulfilling life.

Senior care facility rules and requirements vary based on company-specific policies and state-level regulations. The content above represents common guidelines but may differ from a particular facility’s policies or requirements. To learn the regulations that apply in your state, contact your local Oasis Senior Advisor.