What’s the Difference Between Assisted Living, Long-Term Care, and Hospice?

We can view assisted living, long-term care, and hospice can be thought of as three separate stages or phases of care for seniors. At our senior living community in beautiful Ocean City, New Jersey, we provide apartments and services for older adults who want a medically and socially secure community in their retirement years. UMC provides something known as the “Continuum of Care” for these residents. Many residents come to us fully independent, wanting to experience the social benefits of living in a community setting with their peers. As time goes on, mobility levels and medical needs change, and residents may need more help. At UMC at The Shores, they can progress along the continuum and receive the services and assistance they need, while remaining in the beautiful senior community they call home.

You may start out enjoying the independent lifestyle available at The Shores. You’ll not only have a beautiful apartment minutes away from New Jersey’s best beach for families, but you have access to all that The Shores offers, including meals, entertainment, plenty of opportunities for socializing, and any help you may need with activities of daily living (ADLs). Your rent includes much of these extra amenities, and if you need further assistance, you will only ever pay for services you need. Let’s take a closer look at our base assisted living model for more independent seniors and how that could escalate to long-term care and hospice if needed.

The Assisted Living Model

As time goes on, many residents find their need for assistance with ADLs increases. You may have a recently diagnosed medical condition, or require monitoring or an extra helping hand due to memory loss or mobility issues. This is an easy fix when you reside at UMC the Shores. Since you’re already a member of the UMC Family living at The Shores, , all we have to do is increase your care level as appropriate. This increase could include more daily check-ins with our caregivers or customized physical therapy sessions on-site with one of our dedicated therapists.

Long Term Care

At many non-UMC assisted living communities, you will unfortunately find they have little or no ability to deal with medically frail residents or those with multiple, complex medical conditions. When residents at other communities reach this stage, they are forced to transfer to different, dedicated long-term care or nursing facilities, regardless of how long they’ve been living at their assisted living community. This does not happen at United Methodist Communities at The Shores. Our long-term care program in Cape May County consists of around the clock care that includes nurses, medical management, and customized care services.

Residents that qualify for our long term care program typically have serious, late-stage chronic conditions or a rapidly changing health status. Some of the more common conditions include post-operative wounds, stroke, injuries, diabetes, infections, Alzheimer’s, cardio-vascular ailments, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and respiratory ailments.

Hospice Care

At UMC at The Shores, our Bridges hospice program is designed to bring comfort to not only the residents, but also their family members. For residents who have been medically deemed to have less than six months to live, the priority becomes attending to their complete comfort and holistic needs. Our approach incorporates a comprehensive team responsible for medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support. The resident and family’s desires, dignity, and quality of life are the absolute focus.

Hospice care in Cape May County, NJ

UMC at The Shores houses a dedicated neighborhood called Bridges at The Shores for hospice and palliative care. Our multi-disciplinary team ensures that residents are as comfortable as possible, while meeting their medical needs and providing mental and emotional support for the entire family.

For more information about Bridges at The Shores, if you have any other questions about palliative or hospice care, or you’d like further information about UMC’s continuum of care please contact our team today!

https://umcommunities.org/theshores/

This blog was originally published at https://umcommunities.org/theshores/blog/whats-the-difference-between-assisted-living-long-term-care-and-hospice/

Long-Term Care at Pitman: 5 Indisputable Benefits

The realization that your loved one needs long-term care (also called skilled nursing) may come as a shock. After that shock wears off, you’ll likely feel an urgent need to take action. Your parent’s transition to a long-term care community can be difficult and emotional to navigate, especially without any prior experience or background knowledge about this type of senior care.

At United Methodist Communities at Pitman, we’re proud to offer expert long-term care services to assist seniors who have chronic illnesses or mobility issues. We’ve compiled a list of the five most important benefits of Pitman’s skilled nursing service.

1. Professional and Compassionate Care: At our long-term care community in NJ, we pride ourselves on our dedicated team of skilled nursing professionals. Our caregivers are extensively trained to provide top-quality, compassionate care to residents who may have wound dressings, breathing rehabilitation, tube feedings, or persistent health issues they cannot managed at home. With round-the-clock support, our residents (and their families) can have peace of mind knowing that their healthcare needs are well taken care of.
2. Individualized Care Plans: Every resident is unique, and our approach to long-term care reflects this fact. At UMC at Pitman, we create personalized care plans for each resident, tailored to their specific needs and preferences. Our team of healthcare experts conduct comprehensive assessments upon arrival and each day after to truly understand each resident, cover to cover.
3. Engaging Activities and Social Connections: We firmly believe that an active lifestyle is essential for the overall well-being of our residents. That’s why we place high importance on offering a variety of activities to suit each resident’s interests. Under the direction of our healthcare professionals, your loved one in long-term care can pursue hobbies and group activities to develop social connections within the community. And who knows, they may even build a life-long friendship.
4. Safe and Accessible Environment: Safety is of the utmost importance for seniors who require more comprehensive care or need extra support getting around from point A to point B. Our assisted living community is designed with the specific requirements of our residents in mind, incorporating features such as handrails, non-slip flooring, and wheelchair accessibility throughout our premises. We aim to promote independence and empower our residents to move more freely throughout the day by ensuring they have a safe and comfortable living space.
5. Integrated Healthcare Services: Alongside our long-term care offerings, we provide access to a range of integrated healthcare services. From medication management and physical therapy to specialized nursing care and palliative care, our residents have peace of mind knowing that their evolving healthcare needs will be met within our community. This scaled, integrated approach eliminates the need for multiple external appointments and allows for seamless coordination of care, resulting in a higher quality of life for our residents.

Compassionate Long-Term Care for Seniors in Gloucester County

Choosing long-term care services at Pitman ensures that seniors with more complex needs receive the support, care, and compassion they absolutely deserve. With a dedicated team of health professionals, opportunities for socialization, and a secure living space, your loved one may rediscover some capabilities that were once lost. On top of this, they can connect with other residents and explore interests that they left on hold a long time ago. Our unwavering mission is to empower every type of senior and ensure they live their lives to the fullest – and we don’t intend to stop anytime soon.

To learn more about our compassionate long-term care services in Gloucester County or how UMC enhances quality of life for all NJ seniors, please visit our website at: https://umcommunities.org/pitman/

This blog was originally published at https://umcommunities.org/pitman/blog/long-term-care-at-pitman-5-indisputable-benefits/

Should your Aging Parents Move into Your Home?

This is a question many of us will contemplate at some point in our lives. According to a study by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, nearly 17% of adults living in the U.S. care for someone 50 or older. The benefits and hardships of moving your aging parents in with you drive many to consider alternate solutions, including in-home care or assisted living. You may come to find these solutions preferable for you or your parents.

What Kind of Care Does Your Loved One Need?

This is probably the biggest and most important question because no matter how badly you want to be the one to take care of your loved one doesn’t mean you will have the resources to do so. If your parents are healthy, independent, and require very little care, moving them into your home can be an easy solution. They will have the opportunity to bond and be more involved with their family, which is a priceless opportunity. However, it’s also important to consider how your loved one will spend their time if everyone is gone from the house for over 8 hours a day. They might feel just as lonely as they did in their own home. In that case, a local senior living community might be a nice option that allows them to socialize freely and attend activities while still receiving any care they may need.

If your loved one needs a higher care level and you’re considering moving them into your home, you will need a home health aide to help you manage their care. Even if you work from home, you’ll still need help from time to time. If this is the path you and your family choose, UMC at Homeworks can help you find the perfect caregiver to assist your loved one at home. If in-home assistance feels a little too overwhelming with working full time and taking care of your children, a senior living community that offers assisted living, nursing care, and memory care might be a better choice for your family. Your loved one will still have access to all the activities and socialization they want, but they will be able to receive a higher level of care that can be adjusted as their needs change.

What Level of Care Can You Provide?

When considering a big decision like this, you must be realistic about what care you can provide for your loved one. If you’re working full time, it’s going to be really difficult for you to provide the level of care your loved one needs. Even if your loved one doesn’t require a lot of care at the moment, they might in the future. It’s also important to consider what they will be able to do while you’re away working. Will you need a home health aide? Are you able to get up with them in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom? Are you constantly running around due to a crazy schedule?

Consider Your Relationship With Your Parent

Of course you love your parents, and you want to do anything to help them, but it is important to consider how you’re relationship might change if they move in with you. This arrangement can work incredibly well for some families, and everyone gets along great and is happy to be together. For other families, it can cause a lot of tension and actually make the home a place of stress for both you and your parents. To be clear, if the latter is the case, it’s not due to a lack of love. Some families just get along better with a little bit of distance, and that is nothing to feel shameful about. Don’t feel pressured to move your senior parents in because it’s the “right” thing to do. There is no one right thing, only what works best for you and your family.

UMC at The Shores

If moving your loved one into your home doesn’t work for your family, for whatever reason, a senior living community like UMC at The Shores is there to help. The Shores offers independent lifestyles with support, assisted living, specialized memory care, and long-term care. All services are tailored to each individual’s needs and can be adjusted as their circumstances change. If moving your loved one into your home feels like the right option for your family, but you think you might need some help, UMC Homeworks can help you find the perfect person to help your loved one when you can’t be there.

https://umcommunities.org/theshores/

This blog was originally published at https://umcommunities.org/theshores/blog/should-your-aging-parents-move-into-your-home/

Can You Add Your Elderly Parents to Your Insurance?

Children with elderly parents want the best for them, including the security of knowing their medical needs are taken care of. Although we generally grow in wisdom as the years go by, we know our bodies and minds start showing our life experiences through various health conditions.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), personal health care expenditures accounted for the largest share of total national health expenditures in 2019, pre-Covid. Personal healthcare includes hospital care, physician and dental services, eyeglasses, prescription drugs, and nursing home care. Access to quality medical services is expensive, so you might wonder if adding your elderly parents to your health insurance could help cover costs. Is it possible?       

Can You Add Your Senior Parents to Your Insurance?  

As with most medical and insurance-related matters, the question of whether you can add your parents to your insurance is complicated. No mandate requires health plans to offer coverage for parents on their children’s insurance. In the FAQ section of a national health insurance provider, their response to the question whether a person can add their parents or spouse’s parents to their plan was as follows: “No, you cannot include your parents on the plan. They must enroll in their own health plan through their job, an individual insurance plan, or Medicare (if they are eligible).”

However, this does not mean that all insurance providers have the same policy. It is best to find out from your employer if your parents can be added to your health plan. If your parents are not eligible for the employer-sponsored plan, Medicaid, or Medicare, the next best consideration would be getting them private health insurance.  

When Are Your Parents Considered Dependents?    

There is, however, one instance in which your elderly parents, stepparents, or parents-in-law could possibly be included in your insurance plan. If you claim them as dependents on your federal income tax return, some health plans might allow your parents to be added. 

The Inland Revenue Service (IRS) has strict eligibility requirements if you want to declare one or both parents as dependents. It is advisable to consult with a tax professional on your situation, as there might be tax benefits or implications you are unaware of. The IRS eligibility requirements include:

• They must be citizens or residents of the United States
• Their gross income must be less than $4,300 per year
• They cannot be someone else’s legal dependent
• You must provide for more than half of their financial needs per year.   

If you pay more than half the cost of keeping your parent in a nursing home or assisted living community, the IRS counts it as providing for more than half their annual financial needs. 

How Do You Add Your Parents to Your Insurance?

If you are fortunate enough to have insurance that allows your parents to be included, you can add them during the policy’s open enrollment period. As you know, the enrollment period for most plans usually runs from November through the end of the year, with coverage starting in the new year. There are instances where you are allowed to add a dependent at other times, such as a parent losing their job, losing their medical insurance coverage, or if their spouse passes away.

When Should You Add Your Parents to Your Insurance?

The reasons and timeline for adding elderly parents to your insurance depends on personal circumstances. It could be sudden due to the losses mentioned above, developing circumstances such as an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, or a decision made after estate planning discussions. 

There is a growing awareness that family dynamics have changed. For example, the state of California signed into law what is informally called the “Parent Healthcare Act”, thereby expanding the definition of dependents to include qualifying parents and stepparents. Individual health plans are required to cover qualifying parents on their children’s health insurance, if the parents are not eligible for Medicare or don’t have enough Social Security quarters for free Medicare Part A coverage. 

If you would like more information about long-term care offered to senior adults in NJ, because you are concerned about your elderly parents, please contact us today or visit our website at: https://umcommunities.org/

This blog was originally published at https://umcommunities.org/umc-corp/news/insure-your-parents/