Elderly parents often balk at the notion of moving into a senior community, and this starts an argument with family members. Caring for a senior loved one will mean making decisions they don’t like.
Adult children take on the role of the parent or caregiver for their elderly parents, but as they soon learn, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease transform their loved one into someone else entirely. Home care is helpful, but there are limits on how often the elderly parent receives care. However, assisted living might give them everything they need.
Because Home Is Home
The biggest argument that adult children face with an elderly parent is based on the parent’s desire to stay home. After all, “home is home,” and it is the place where they feel the safest. But, is home the best choice for all parents?
Early-stage dementia doesn’t cause extreme symptoms, and until the parent experiences severe cognitive decline, they are safe at home. The problem is the fear of leaving the family home and into assisted living in Manvel, TX might make the parent try to hide their symptoms. Home care is beneficial for a parent that just needs a little help with activities of daily life, but more profound disabilities aren’t managed well by at-home nurses.
Their Life, Their Choice
The most appealing aspect of retiring is that the person is no longer restricted to a set schedule each day. They don’t have to rush to get to work by a specific time when someone else plans how they spend the day. For retired seniors, it’s their life, their choice, and they have the freedom to do anything they want when they want.
A big fear with assisted living is that the parent will have no control over their own lives. So, many seniors turn to home care for assistance. At-home nurses may help the person for many years, but health insurance only covers an at-home nurse up to eight hours a day and only 28 hours a week. This leaves the senior responsible for all incurred costs after insurance pays its portion. With assisted living, the parent pays one fee each month, which includes housing costs.
But It’s Expensive
A comparison of the price for an at-home nurse and living in a senior community often shows that the senior faces more out-of-pocket costs with home care. Medicaid, Medicare, and disability insurance pay for home care services for up to a maximum of eight to ten years.
The coverage maximum determines when the insurance runs out. If a parent has dementia, severe cognitive declined, the insurance coverage for an in-home nurse runs out at the most critical moments of the disease. Health insurance may cover the monthly fee for assisted living with zero out-of-pocket costs.
But There’s No Privacy
Aging parents use privacy as a reason to refuse to move into assisted living. Their concern is that they must share their rooms with others, and the staff will never give them complete privacy. This is why many parents insist on getting home care instead.
Privacy is important to all residents in a community, and the nurses and staff do everything to maintain the resident’s privacy and dignity. Private living spaces are available to all residents, and they have a private bathroom. They can also get memory care services in their room discreetly. Other residents don’t invade their space or their privacy.
Protecting Seniors Against Dementia-Driven Wandering
Statistics show that 60% of all individuals who have Alzheimer’s disease experience dementia-driven wandering tendencies. There are a growing number of elderly parents who wander away from their home and get lost each year. Health statistics show that if these elderly people aren’t found within the first 24 hours, they could succumb to the effects of extreme heat or cold.
Home care nurses are human, and they will need to make bathroom trips during their shifts. It only takes a matter of minutes for a senior with dementia to walk out the door and wander away from home. Assisted living communities offer a secured wing that stops mid- to late-stage dementia residents from wandering.
Homes for Seniors
At Orchard Park at South fork, we keep families in mind and know how important steady connections with family are to our residents. Our community is safe for all seniors and helps them live independently for many years. Is your parent afraid assisted living because of the unknown? Come by today for a tour and see how great our community is.
