The Difference Between In-Home Care and Assisted Living

 

Many children with senior parents struggle with deciding between getting their loved ones in-home care or moving them into an assisted living community that provides a continuum of care. Before making a final decision, it’s important to look at the pros and cons of each option to find the care that suits mom or dad – and you – the best.

What is assisted living?

An assisted living community is a space or several spaces, that caters to seniors who need help with ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) such as getting dressed for the day, managing daily medications, and meal preparation. Every community is different in terms of the lifestyle they offer and the care they provide, so it’s important to visit some well-known providers in your area to get a feel for what the assisted living community will offer.

Advantages of assisted living

The best-assisted living communities can accommodate adults with a wide range of needs, from retirees who simply don’t want the hassle of maintaining a house anymore to seniors with complex health conditions or limited mobility. While your parents would be moving out of their home, assisted living can offer a very rich community experience with a wide range of amenities like dining spaces, landscaped gardens, salons, fitness centers, activity clubs, and seasonal events.

The biggest advantage of this type of living is that it is very secure and gives great peace of mind. If your parents travel, their home is safe and looked after, and all maintenance and security are taken care of. If they become less mobile, their home is already geared up to accommodate wheelchairs and prevent falls. If their care needs change, services can be instantly stepped up to accommodate these needs. If your parent develops a memory condition, there is a specialized support program in place that includes around-the-clock care.

And, most importantly, the best-assisted living communities with a continuum of care also ensure that your parents get to age in place – that they won’t be separated or need to move to a nursing home.

Disadvantages of assisted living

There are some potential drawbacks to moving into an assisted living community that you should also consider. For one, every community is different, so it can take time to find the right fit for your parents. Another potential issue is that your parents will have to physically move from their home. Moving can always be a challenging process to manage, and relocating could mean your loved ones will be further away from friends and family. However, a community with a welcoming team of staff and a vibrant social calendar will help make this transition much easier for them. Remember, the community you help them select needs to be a place where they could see themselves really loving and calling “home.”

What is in-home care?

This is a flexible senior care service where a qualified caregiver provides assistance to your parents in their own home. It’s a great alternative to assisted living if your parents are really adamant about not moving.

Advantages of in-home care

The main advantage is that your parents don’t have to move from their current home. This is significant for people who are very attached to their home, who are a strong part of their community, who have family and friends nearby, and who have a home that is relatively easy to manage.

In addition, care services can be supplied on an as-needed basis and tailored to your parent’s requirements, often making the service more affordable in some ways than assisted living. The best senior home care agencies supply a wide range of assistance including meal preparation, companionship, running errands, skilled nursing, overnight care, medication management, and assistance with grooming, bathing, and dressing. Many agencies also provide in-home care for elderly people with dementia conditions, seniors who are recovering from surgery or illness, or those who require palliative care.

In-homecare can also be provided to assist you in caring for your parents yourself. For example, if you need someone to assist your parents while you’re at work, while you are away on holiday, or for any other reason, they can step in and give you respite.

Disadvantages of in-home care for seniors

There are some drawbacks to this service depending on your parent’s needs and environment. For example, you may have to fall-proof their home to help prevent injuries. Another thing to consider is that unless you have 24-hour in-home care, your loved one may need you or other family members to step in to provide caregiving and assistance.

It’s also important to draw up a spreadsheet on the costs of staying at home. For example, their home may still require mortgage payments in addition to repair and maintenance costs that may make it more expensive to receive in-home care than to sell the house and move to an assisted living community.

Finally, while in-home care providers are great companions as well as caregivers, a community can offer more in terms of friendships, social events, and activities. This is especially important if your parents live in an isolated area, are far away from friends and family, or are worried about them becoming socially withdrawn.

To find out more about independent-style assisted living in NJ, contact the team at United Methodist Communities! We run a beautiful, world-class assisted living community in rural Sussex County, and we’re happy to help your loved one start this journey. Please contact us today or visit our website at: https://umcommunities.org/bristolglen/

This blog was originally published at https://umcommunities.org/bristolglen/blog/the-difference-between-in-home-care-and-assisted-living/

How to Make New Friends After Retirement

 

While you settle into your new assisted living community, you may find it a bit lonely at first. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about as many older adults have felt this way at one time or another. It can be difficult to leave a local group of lifelong friends and make new friendships, especially in your senior years. Here are some valuable tips to make fast friends from our assisted living team in Pitman NJ. 

Join a club or group activity 

Joining a club or engaging in group activities are the best ways to meet people with like-minded interests. Here at Pitman, we have many clubs available for our residents to join, such as the Garden Club. Our associates are available 24/7 to encourage and provide assistance to residents who would like to actively take part in community life. Not to mention, playing a cognitive game with a new friend like a puzzle can not only sharpen your social skills, but also sharpen short-term memory and problem-solving skills. 

Be more tech-savvy

Technology is the way of the world now. It’s been especially helpful during the pandemic when face-to-face meetings aren’t always the safest option. Many assisted living communities, including UMC, have tackled the challenge of creating an abundant social life for seniors during COVID-19. It hasn’t always been easy, but technology like Zoom and Facetime has really helped our residents stay connected to family, friends, and other residents. We’ve also used this technology to host group activities safely, such as our monthly virtual trivia competitions. 

Ask assisted living associates for help 

If you’re still not sure how or where to start, ask assisted living associates for help! As mentioned above, the associates are available around the clock to help with not only medical needs, but personal needs as well. Making new friends definitely qualifies as a personal need, as well as an essential one! At UMC at Pitman, we believe in enriching all aspects of our residents’ lives – including their social lives. This is why we strive to provide many diverse activities to suit the interests of all residents. 

Community life in Gloucester County, NJ

Making the transition to assisted living can be an adjustment, but when you retire in a great town like Pitman NJ, our residents find that making new friends comes easily with all the fun activities available onsite. Our assisted living residents also have access to all the activity the surrounding community offers, through onsite transportation options. 

If you’d like to see if we’re the right assisted living option in Gloucester County, New Jersey, or would like more information about our active community life, please contact us today.

Original content posted on https://pitman.umcommunities.org/2021/02/22/how-to-make-new-friends-after-retirement/

Reasons for Optimism Amid COVID-19

Right now, the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is the main topic of conversation across New Jersey and across America. During this time, it is reasonable to feel overwhelmed and negative, focusing on worst-case scenarios.

Even though in this moment the pandemic is far from over, there are still positive outcomes around the world and progress being made against the virus, giving us hope that sooner, rather than later, it will be an unpleasant memory.

The Curve is flattening.

Social distancing, where practiced, is working. Although uncomfortable and inconvenient, it is saving lives. Current trends in New Jersey and New York, as well as globally, are moving in a positive direction.

• China has recently announced a severe reduction in new cases.
  
  
• Singapore acted fast and managed to contain the virus’s spread even without the extreme measures taken by most countries.
  
  
• Hong Kong and Taiwan had a SARS epidemic in 2002, which prepared them to invest time and resources into dealing with future outbreaks. Their previous experience helped them tackle the virus confidently.
  
  
• Currently Germany and Denmark are starting to reopen small shops and schools, while reports state that many countries have now passed their peaks of new cases.
  
  

A Vaccine is Underway. Several Actually.

Scientists around the world are working around the clock to find a coronavirus vaccine. To expedite the process, much of the red tape associated with normal vaccine approval cycles have been removed.

• Clinical trials that test methods to boost our immune system against the coronavirus are happening in China.
  
  
• Biotech company Moderna has started the first US clinical trials for a potential vaccine and seen positive results during their phase 1 trial.
  
  
• A Pennsylvania biotech company is generating strands of DNA hoping it will stimulate an immune response.
  
  
• Johnson & Johnson and French pharmaceutical giant, Sanofi together with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, are working on a vaccine. Sanofi plans to mix coronavirus DNA with genetic material from a harmless virus, while Johnson & Johnson will attempt to deactivate SARS-CoV-2 and switch off its ability to cause illness.
  
  
• Another potential coronavirus vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford, entered the human trial stage. The United Kingdom government has pledged £20m to support the Oxford University trial and £22.5m to support another trial at Imperial College. According to Oxford, the best-case scenario is that by autumn 2020, researchers would have an efficacy result from the tests to show whether the vaccine protects against the virus or not.
  
  
• Mercedes Formula 1 engineers have joined hands with the University College London to develop a breathing device that can be used on patients instead of having to place them in intensive care on a ventilator.
  
  

People are recovering.

Thanks to our front line workers and medical staff, more than half a million people are recovering from COVID -19.

• Doctors in India have successfully treated infected patients with a mixture of drugs usually used to tackle HIV, swine flu, and malaria.
  
  
• Doctors in China and Japan used blood plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat newly-infected patients and had significant results.
  
  
• Catching the virus is not always fatal for the elderly. According to reports,106-year-old Connie Titchen recovered from the infection in the UK, as well as 102-year-old Italica Grondona in Italy. A 103-year-old Chinese woman also recovered.
  
  
• Vint Cerf, who is 76, tweeted on April 3: “Good news – VA Public Health has certified my wife and me are no longer contagious with COVID19. Recovering!”
  
  

Assisted living communities are protecting residents

Despite the early difficulties of certain assisted living communities around the country, many have implemented actions to protect their residents. See this article, on the state of safety inside Assisted Living communities and why UMC has been so successful in keeping cases to a minimum among its residents and associates.

To find out more about our assisted living community, please visit our website at https://pitman.umcommunities.org/contact us today or book a personal tour.

Original content posted on: https://umcommunities.org/blog/reasons-for-optimism-amid-covid-19/