Short & Long-Term Living Arrangements for the Elderly
Types of Care Arrangements
Home Health Care
Senior can contract with a licensed or unlicensed care giver to provide supportive services at home on an intermittent basis or 24 hours a day, depending on specific needs.
Unlicensed Assisted Living
Generally an apartment type setting where a central dinning facility is provided. Residents can privately contract out for higher level of care but the facility is not a health care provider.
Licensed Residential Care facilities for the Elderly (Assisted Living)
Housing arrangement chosen voluntarily by persons 60 years of age or over where varying levels and intensities of care and supervision, protective supervision, or personal care are provided, based upon their varying needs. Includes secure Alzheimer units where residents receive 24 hour care with activities of daily living.
Skilled Nursing Facility
Skilled nursing care facilities, commonly referred to as nursing homes, are licensed healthcare facilities that are inspected and regulated by a state’s Department of Health Services.
They offer long- and short-term care for individuals who need rehabilitation services or who suffer from serious or persistent health issues, such as Alzheimer’s disease, that are too complicated to be tended to at home or at an assisted living facility. This is a step below Know your nursing home rights
Acute Care Facility
Hospital
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) offer persons 60 years of age or older a long term continuing care contract that provides for independent living units, residential care/assisted living services, and skilled nursing care, usually in one location, and usually for a resident’s lifetime. Most CCRCs require a substantial entrance fee (e.g., from a low of $100,000 to over a million) to be paid by the applicant upon admission along with monthly fees.
