Entering a new stage of life can be both exciting and overwhelming. With age, new considerations have to be made about what level of care is required. This transition can be tough as you navigate through the variety of senior living options available. If this is the first time you or a loved one is having to consider senior living, the range of options can be overwhelming. Though the available services for residential living are different, they can all sound the same if you’re unfamiliar with the terms.
Does your loved one need assisted living or respite care? What’s the difference, and which best suits their needs? Differentiating between assisted living and respite care doesn’t have to be difficult. Let’s look at the differences so you can find the right level of care for your loved one.
What Is Full-Time Assisted Living?
Assisted living is residential housing—often within a senior community—that provides nursing care, housekeeping, and prepared meals. Full-time assisted living is designed for seniors who may require additional assistance with their daily activities. Residents of assisted living communities have access to 24-hour supervision and care. This includes care services such as bathing and dressing as well as help with medication management.
Who Benefits from Assisted Living?
Assisted living may be the best option for your senior who requires long-term care and assistance. If your loved one needs additional help with their daily activities but still values their independence and social life, you may want to choose full-time assisted living. These communities are designed to meet the health and safety needs of your loved one while still promoting independence and community socialization.
What Are the Advantages of Assisted Living?
Assisted living care is personalized. Each resident has specific and individualized needs. With an array of care available, everyone receives the level of care that’s best suited to them. Assisted living strives to create autonomy and protect the dignity of the residents while providing help with medical needs or personal care. If needs change, the personalized care adapts to meet these changing needs or preferences.
Assistance may include help with bathing and showering, dressing, grooming, incontinence care, and medication management. If your senior struggles with daily activities, caring and professional staff will aid them with such tasks, ensuring they get the help they need while relieving them of any burden if self-care is difficult. With 24-hour supervision and emergency response monitoring, your senior can rest easy.
Assisted living also provides help with daily chores and offers a host of social and recreational activities. They provide meals in a group setting, manage housekeeping and maintenance, and assist with transportation. With the burden of these daily chores relieved, the freedom to pursue interests and hobbies abounds. Senior living communities offer organized recreational activities, exercise and wellness programs, and planned outings. Your loved one can get the care they need while still enjoying the lifestyle they’re accustomed to.
What Is Respite Care?
Respite care is temporary care for a senior recovering from an illness or injury. It is short-term care that provides relief for the primary caregiver. Though it can be offered in-home or at an adult day center, it’s often provided at residential senior living communities.
Who Benefits from Respite Care?
Providing care for a senior struggling with an illness or injury can be quite demanding. If you’re family or the primary caregiver and need a break, respite care offers temporary relief. If you’re overwhelmed and need support with your loved one’s care, it’s an opportunity to rest while not compromising their quality of care. Respite care is designed to share the responsibility of caregiving. You can help maintain the health of your loved one while also managing your own.
As a caregiver, it can be difficult to focus on your own health. You may even struggle with feeling selfish for simply wanting a break or vacation. Respite care relieves this burden so you can rest without guilt. Needing support is not selfish and is integral for sustaining your health as well as your loved one’s.
Respite care is also a good option for a senior who has been discharged from a hospital or nursing home and is in need of additional help during this transition.
What Are the Advantages of Respite Care?
Aside from a caregiver getting support with additional or transitional care, a senior needing short-term assistance will also benefit from receiving care in a home-like setting.
They’ll receive the same quality of care and benefits as full-time assisted living residents. This means they have the same access to all the same social activities and amenities, such as meal delivery, transportation, and help with daily needs, including laundry, bathing and showering, and dressing.
They also have the advantage of being within a senior living community staffed with trained professionals ready to help; your loved one has 24-hour supervision and support.
Respite care is also an opportunity to get a feel for what full-time assisted living is like without the decision of relocating permanently. Your loved one can test out assisted living and decide if it’s a good fit for them should they want or need it in the future.
If your loved one requires assisted living or respite care, consider choosing Solterra Senior Living. Our compassionate caregivers are trained to meet your senior’s needs with dignity and respect. We believe everyone should live well. Our well-trained and caring professionals are available 24 hours a day and focus on wellness and independence. No matter what level of care your loved one needs, we are committed to maximizing their quality of life.
Aging can be difficult but providing the best care for your loved one’s individual needs can help them age gracefully with minimal stress for everyone involved. Assisted living respite care doesn’t have to be confusing. Knowing the difference between the types of care available can help you and your family ease through the transition so your loved one can enjoy the highest quality of life for more years to come.
