When people think of long-term healthcare, they envision the care offered to seniors. The truth is that long-term medical care is not limited to seniors. In fact, approximately 45% of people in long-term care are aged below fifty years. Long-term healthcare can be temporary or permanent. Temporary care includes rehabilitation after surgery, a hospital stay, illness, or an injury. It also includes end-of-life care. Permanent long-term care is meant for chronic severe pain, chronic conditions, and permanent disabilities.
Nursing homes in Worcester County are among the most popular alternatives for long-term care. There are nonetheless different levels of care, depending on your conditions and needs. The following are tidbits to enable you to make the right choice between the available options.
Home-Based Care
This is an ideal choice for people who want to spend maximum time with their families or in the familiar surroundings of their home during care. The services offered in this type of medical care range from help with your personal shopping to skilled nursing. Skilled nursing care is generally called home health care, although there also exists hospice care for those who are terminally ill. Home-based care works best for people who live with their families who can handle a few aspects of their care when the professionals are not around. In a few cases, however, you can opt for a live-in nurse to handle all elements of your care.
Assisted Living
Here, residents benefit from assistance with activities of daily life, including healthcare, meals, medication management, and housekeeping in home-like settings. In assisted living communities, the goal is the promotion of self-sufficiency so that residents retain a high independence level. More often than not, assisted living is an intermediate step between skilled nursing care and independent living.
Adult Day Health Care
This is designed for people with chronic diseases. It is meant to give caregivers a break to attend to other issues during the day after taking care of adults with various medical conditions overnight. Therapeutic services, meals, and social services are some of the aspects handled in an adult day health care with the patient going back home in the evening.
Memory Care
Most people think memory care and assisted living facilities are the same. Memory care facilities, unlike assisted living centers, are nonetheless primarily focused on the provision of vigilant care for patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s. Memory care includes 24-hour supervised care in a secure facility with scheduled routines to boost the safety of residents.
Skilled Nursing Care
This is offered around the clock by licensed nursing professionals in certified centers. This type of care is often used by those with complex medical conditions and those that need high levels of care. Your stay in a skilled nursing facility can be short or long-term. Some of the services offered include rehabilitative therapies for those who have lost some of their abilities when recovering from surgery, injury, or disease.
Medical care does not necessarily mean a hospital setting. The above levels of long-term care will minimize your stay in hospitals, and consequently, the risk of contracting other diseases. They thus guarantee a fulfilled and comfortable life despite your medical status.
