Assisted Living Vs Nursing Home

If you are searching for the phrase “differences between assisted living vs a nursing home“, this post should help. Whether you or a loved one needs to find the difference between the two please read on.

Assisted Living Vs Nursing Home | What’s the difference

Have you had recent holiday visits with an aging loved one let you wonder about their living alone and their safety? It is usually throughout the holiday seasons when the family gets together that they begin thinking more about their aged one’s safety because they are living by themselves, and they begin considering a change in their living arrangements. However, with so many different options in senior care today, so with all the confusion already, why make it difficult as well? Hopefully, by giving some of the similarities and differences in communities of assisted living and nursing care centers it will be beneficial to you by taking some of the presser off.

Understanding the options for senior living styles and choices

Both the assisted living communities and the nursing care centers focuses on their senior residents and help in making their place their home, keeping them healthy, happy, and safe. They both also provide and support the (ADL) Activities of Daily Living, which include helping them to get dressed, bathed, and with their personal care.

Here are some more similarities of the two different types of communities:

These two communities have differences between them. However, they do have some things that are very similar also. Each community offers both medication management and life enrichment, as well as supportive services. Below you can read about the benefits of both of them.

Medication management:

The leading cause of seniors landing in an emergency room is because of making mistakes with their medications. Managing medications is difficult and more so for some seniors, especially those who have to take several different kinds on a daily basis. Both, the communities for assisted living and the nursing care center have the ability to help their residents with medication management.

Life enrichment:

It is a known fact that loneliness and being isolated puts seniors at a far greater risk for having health issues, like depression, high blood pressure, and even diabetes. There is numerous life enrichment activities offered by nursing care centers and assisted living communities which meet the emotional spiritual, and physical needs of their residents.

Supportive services

Many seniors choose to move into communities for older adults because they realize that they will be in need of their supportive services, such as laundry, housekeeping, and transportation. We offer a variety of services designed to meet your loved ones needs and to help them maintain the utmost level of independence.

The assisted living communities, as well as nursing care centers both offer these services.

Both communities offer a secure environment, as well as meals that are nutritionally well balanced. Although these services are offered at both communities, they will differ between the nursing care center and the assisted living community.

A secure environment

Although the physical attributions of both communities are somewhat different from one another, they have both been designed with the security of the residents in mind. Both of these communities help in making sure their residents are safe in more ways than just having grab bars and hand rails, and emergency call systems.

Meals that are well-balanced

Both communities stay focused on the nutrition of their residents, as they are provided three balanced nutritional meals daily, along with healthy snacks. This is perfect for those who have been struggling at home to prepare their own healthy meals.

The differences in assisted living communities and a nursing care center

The main difference you are going to find between these two communities for seniors is going to be within the medical services provided and the actual physical contribution of each one.

Senior housing provides care and the needed services of seniors

Those who will need cared for 24/7 will usually have arrangements made for this type of living situation. These types of residents are generally in need of health care that consists of much more complex health care and require some assistance of skilled nursing and/or speech and/or physical therapist. There are also some residents who are in need of respiratory care services.

By contrast, those who are living in an assisted living community will usually needing custodial care. This could be someone having memory loss or just a senior that should not be left alone. It may be an adult that has mobility problems who requires some help when being transferred into their bed or into their favorite chair.

The way that senior housing communities are different in the physical sense

One of the most obvious differences of the two will be in their appearance when touring their communities. Due to the type of care a nursing care center gives it will look more like a medical institution, whereas, your assisted living community is going to look more like an apartment community.

Also, seniors may be sharing a room when they are in a nursing care center. However, those in an assisted living community will have their own private apartment or suite.

Assisted Living and Nursing Home In Surprise by Chaparral Winds

Chaparral Winds is an assisted living facility in Surprise, Arizona. To schedule a tour of our assisted living facility, SLS Communities or for more information please call us today at 623-471-5086.