Assisted Living vs. In-Home Care: Which One is Better for Your Family?

Your elderly loved one deserves to be happy and healthy in their later years. If they are struggling to get by on a daily basis, however, their happiness and their health can rapidly decline. Before this becomes a serious problem, you may want to consider providing your aging parent with in-home care or, if necessary, placing them in an assisted living facility.

Here are a few questions you might want to ask before making a final decision about whether it would be best for your elderly loved one to be in an assisted living facility or receive in-home care:

• What does your loved one want? This may seem fairly obvious, but it is important to underscore just how important it is for your elderly loved one to be on board with your decision. You want your loved one to be happy and content as they enter their Golden Years. Sometimes, a person is reluctant to leave the home they have lived in for many years. Moreover, your parent may not want to give up their sense of independence and privacy by turning over their daily care to other people.
• Does your loved one live alone? If your loved one is getting up there in age and does not have anyone else around to care for them, it may be time to think about assisted living. This is especially true if your aging parent has a medical condition or health problems that could potentially worsen without regular care and treatment. Additionally, an assisted living facility will likely provide your loved one with an opportunity for social interaction, which can be particularly important if you are worried about your parent becoming isolated and cut off from the world in their later years.
• What kind of medical care and treatment does your loved one need? An in-home care agency typically offers varying degrees of service, depending on the needs of the client. If your parent could simply use a little help with preparation of meals or a daily reminder about medication, in-home care might be the best option for them. However, if your loved one has more specific needs, such as more consistent monitoring of a health issue, it may make more sense for them to be in an assisted living facility where they can get a little more support on a regular basis. Depending on the circumstances, you may even want to consider whether a nursing home would be the best place for your parent.

If your elderly loved one is already in a nursing home or an assisted living facility in New Jersey, they deserve to be treated with respect, as well as properly cared for. In the event that your loved one has suffered an injury or illness in a nursing home or assisting living facility, it is crucial that you talk to a qualified nursing home abuse and negligence lawyer immediately. Barry Sugarman is an experienced NJ nursing home neglect attorney who will make sure your loved one gets the care they need, want and deserve. Contact Mr. Sugarman today to schedule a free consultation.