Exploring different senior living options for you or an aging loved one can feel overwhelming. You want to make the right choice for you or your loved one’s health and happiness, while also respecting your family’s desires regarding staying at home or transitioning to a senior living community. Both senior living arrangements have benefits and drawbacks worth considering. In this article, we’ll help clarify your options when choosing between assisted living and non-medical home care for seniors so that you can make the best, most informed choice for you and your family.

What is Non-Medical Home Care?

When you hire non-medical home care, a home care aide will come to you or your loved one’s home and stay—either round-the-clock or on a pre-determined schedule. This person, sometimes called a senior care companion or home aide, can help perform daily tasks provide companionship.

Non-Medical Care versus Skilled Home Health Care

It’s important to note the difference between non-medical care and home health care. Nearly anyone—even without a medical license—can perform non-medical care. In fact, the burden often falls on a family member, who isn’t paid for these services.

On the other hand, home health professionals are skilled medical professionals who can often administer medications, offer occupational therapy services, change wound dressings, and assess overall health. If you or your loved one is experiencing health concerns or if you’re worried about moving safely around the house, home health care is worth considering. Unfortunately, home care for seniors, both medical and non-medical, can be expensive and the costs can quickly add up to thousands of dollars a month, particularly if round-the-clock care is needed.

What Is Assisted Living?

In an assisted living community, staff is available 24/7 to provide non-medical care services. You or your senior loved one receives care and companionship she or he whenever it’s necessary.

In addition, an assisted living community often provides social activities from group yoga classes to movie night to keep residents engaged with life. Many also offer wellness programs, healthy meal options and transportation. If you opt for in-home non-medical care, you’ll have to pay separately for these types of services.

Non-Medical Home Care or Assisted Living?

Caregivers and seniors often believe non-medical home care is a suitable, more cost-effective option to assisted living. They might even believe non-medical home care gives a senior more freedom. For an older adult who wishes to age in place, in-home care may be the right option. Here are some of the key differences between the two to consider:

Another major benefit of assisted living is that your care is spread out across an entire team instead of one individual. If your home health aide calls in sick or needs to care for someone else, few alternative options are available. Assisted living means your loved one will always have the care they need, when they need it.

Note: Your money may go further in an assisted living community since large expenses like rent and dining are included, along with a wide variety of activities and close companionship with other older adults you can’t get with a home aide. Download our FREE Guide to the Cost of Senior Living eBook to learn more about how assisted living may be more cost effective than you think.

When analyzing all factors, including costs, it’s important to remember the following:

• A senior who uses non-medical home care must pay the home aide, along with all the usual expenses such as meals, mortgage, taxes, and utilities
• Assisted living includes non-medical care, as well as a place to live, transportation, some meals, home maintenance (including lawn care), and utilities
• Assisted living provides services when you or your loved one needs it, round-the-clock

Move or Stay?

The decision to move to assisted living or to age-in-place with help from a home aide is a difficult one. Find a Five Star Senior Living community near you to see if the environment, services and amenities would be the right fit for you.

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If you or a family elder are searching for a senior living community, you might be wondering how to make an informed choice. It can be easy to let attractive interiors play a role in your decision. While a clean, well-cared-for community is essential, other factors are even more important while evaluating senior living.

Quality of support services, team member experience, and a dedication to resident happiness and safety are just a few. Let’s take a more in-depth look at how to assess senior living communities.

6 Tips to Objectively Evaluate Senior Living Communities

1. Start your search online.
   Most senior living communities have both a website and a presence on social media channels. You can start online to get a basic understanding of what levels of care they offer, as well as their services and amenities. The photos and posts on social media channels, especially Facebook, can also provide a glimpse into the daily life of a community. Read the online reviews to get a feel for the community. Analyze the negative reviews as well as the positive ones. Was there a response? Did the response demonstrate an open, collaborative mindset?
2. Ask friends and professional advisors for referrals.
   Word of mouth is a great way to add (or subtract) a senior living community from your potential list. Ask those you know and trust if they have been through this search for a loved one. People who have done this understand how important this decision is and are generally willing to share their experiences. Do you have friends who have lived in the community? Do you have friends or colleagues who have loved ones who have lived there?

   Don’t forget to ask your professional advisors. Your physicians, clergy, legal and financial advisors, realtors, and other trusted resources that are part of your circle of influence are often a wealth of knowledge for you. At Five Star, we suggest that you ask these individuals, “If it was your Mom, would you choose that community?”

3. Make phone calls to narrow the search
   Once you have a preliminary list of senior living communities to evaluate, create a list of questions to ask when you call. Block out some uninterrupted time to contact each community. Make sure to take detailed notes during your phone calls. You may think you’ll be able to remember what you talked about, but speaking with multiple communities can make that tough to do.

   Pay attention not only to the information that you gather. Observe the community representative in you and your story. Did they listen with interest? Did they ask you questions to determine your needs and wants

   Common Questions About Senior Living is a good article to review when you are developing your list of questions. From costs to pets, it contains helpful information.

4. Review state survey results for communities
   Each state has different regulations for senior living communities. The licensed service lines including Assisted Living, Memory Care and Healthcare (skilled and rehab) will be surveyed by the state regularly to determine if they are complying with state regulations.

   Most states publish their survey results online. This makes it easy for older adults and their families to review them. For those states that don’t publish results online, ask to see a copy during your visit.

   For communities that have skilled nursing and rehab, and take Medicare and/or Medicaid – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes a star rating that can be found at www.cms.gov

5. Schedule an in-person or virtual tour
   A tour, whether in person or virtual is an important component of your selection process. Often, at Five Star, we find that families want to make multiple visits.

   While we know that an in-person visit is generally best, some communities are restricting outside visitors due to COVID-19 concerns. Fortunately, many senior living communities can accommodate virtual tours. These are the next best thing to being inside the community. Again, take good notes whether your tour is in person or through a video chat platform.

   When you tour, pay close attention to resident and team member interactions, how clean and tidy the community looks, and whether residents appear engaged. Does the environment seem positive and friendly? Does it look and feel like a place your family member could call home? Did team members greet you, were you introduced to associates and residents? In this era of COVID, did you observe safety precautions such as mask-wearing and social distancing? We think that either an in-person visit or a virtual tour should give you a feeling for the “vibe” of the community.

6. Weigh the pros and cons
   Finally, sit down and carefully review your notes. Think about what you liked and didn’t like, as well as how well each community met your needs and your wants Some communities will be easier than others to eliminate. If you are able, it’s typically a good idea to visit any senior living community that is a serious contender more than once.

   Another option, if available, is to take advantage of a community’s respite program. Through this program, a potential resident can enjoy a short stay and experience the community first hand. This gives both the prospective resident and the family to make a more comprehensive evaluation. Keep in mind, these stays may be limited due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Transitioning to a Senior Living Community

We know lingering coronavirus concerns may leave families wondering if this is the right time to consider making a move. That’s why we created a helpful resource to aid you in making that determination. Transitioning to Senior Living During the Pandemic answers some of the most commonly asked questions older adults and their loved ones have right now. You can download this resource at no cost.

At Five Star Senior Living, we intend to be the educator and to help you make wise senior living choices. We are here to be your Trusted Resource.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made assisted living community tours a little different. While some areas can accommodate in-person tours with precautions, others are relying on virtual tours to give families a look at community life. Whatever type of tour you embark on as you begin your search, there are some important questions to ask.

Preparing a list ahead of time will make it easier to take notes and ensure you don’t forget to ask something vital. Here are some suggestions to help you get started.

8 Key Questions to Ask about Assisted Living

1. How does the community hire, screen, and train team members?

The quality of care an assisted living community provides is dependent upon the quality of its team members. Does the company hire for empathy and train for excellence? Recruitment is the first step, so ask where the company finds its staff.

It’s also essential to learn about the community’s training program. While most companies have an established onboarding program, what happens after that? How often do team members receive more training to keep their skills updated?

2. What is the community’s turnover rate?

Caring for older adults isn’t easy, physically or emotionally. Empathetic caregivers experience burnout, so it’s understandable that staff turnover rate is higher in the senior living industry. A turnover rate that is too high, however, may be a sign of poor management.

The same holds true for residents. Ask how long resident tenure is and how many residents move to another community in a typical year.

3. How much time do caregivers spend with each resident?

Another vital piece of information is the community’s caregiver-to-resident ratio. When an assisted living community is well staffed, caregivers aren’t rushed and residents typically receive better care. That’s because team members get to know each resident better and are able to recognize small health changes early.

4. What happens when a resident’s health changes?

As residents grow older, their needs change. Some communities are more equipped to handle those changes than others. Make sure to find out what happens if your loved one’s care needs change after they move in. Does the community offer an enhanced level of assisted living? Or memory care for adults with dementia? If not, will your family member need to move again? Moving can be especially tough for a senior whose health is declining.

5. What does—and doesn’t—the monthly fee include?

If you’ve just started searching for an assisted living community for a friend or family member, you’ve likely discovered a vast difference in pricing structures. It makes it tough for families to objectively compare the cost of different assisted living communities.

To make sure you are comparing apples to apples, ask each community for a list of what is included in the monthly fee. Then ask what additional expenses you should expect each month. It’s the best way to be sure you are making an informed decision.

6. How often do monthly fees increase?

Like any business, the cost of operating an assisted living community increases. Salaries, food costs, utilities, and insurance are just a few expenses that increase almost every year.

Make sure you understand how often monthly fees increase and how much notice you will be given. Ask if there is a cap on how much fees will go up in any given year.

7. Where can you find state survey results?

Every state regulates assisted living communities differently, but they all conduct surveys to ensure rules are being followed. Ask the salesperson or executive director where you can review the community’s state survey results. Some states publish them online to make them easier to access.

8. How is the community handling concerns about the coronavirus?

We would be remiss if we didn’t encourage you to ask how the community handles concerns about COVID-19. It’s a serious issue that disproportionately impacts older adults.

Along the same lines, find out what plans are in place for other types of emergencies. Tornadoes, floods, and other severe weather events require detailed preparations.

COVID-19 Precautions at Five Star

From the earliest days of the COVID-19 crisis, Five Star has taken every precaution to keep residents safe. We also welcome questions. Call the Five Star community nearest you to talk with a team member today!