An assisted living facility is typically considered to be housing for the elderly. It tends to be more of an apartment like home environment where the focus is helping the resident live as independently as possible. Many seniors who choose this option are still mostly mobile, but they may need some additional assistance with activities of daily living such as meal preparation, housekeeping, laundry, medication management, or dressing and bathing. Some residents even still drive and are able to keep cars at the facility so that they can come and go as they please.

Residents are considered to be living at “home” when they are staying in an assisted living facility. This means that they can still receive home services such as home oxygen, home health, or even home hospice services.

Elderly patients who may need a long-term housing option, but who may also need a higher level of medical care would likely require placement to a nursing home rather than an assisted living facility. These patients may be declining physically or mentally, may need more supervised chronic disease management, or may need more extensive assistance with their activities of daily living. A nursing home/ long-term care facility tends to focus more on medical management and safety rather than independent living. The environment is usually a private or semi-private room with a shared bathroom/shower. Some nursing homes may have locked/secured memory care units specifically for Alzheimer and Dementia patients. This type of unit can be very beneficial for those patients who are prone to wandering. Patients typically do not get to come and go from the facility unless a family member or friend signs them out for the day.

Long-term care placement in a nursing home is only covered by private pay, long-term care insurance plans, or Medicaid. Medicare and commercial insurance plans do not cover this type of nursing home stay. The private pay amount per month for this can range from $5,000-$10,000 per month so it is usually more costly than assisted living. The total cost will be dependent on the facility and the patient’s needs.

For placement to a nursing home, there will need to be physician orders and paperwork completed. A good place to start would be to call the nursing facility of choice and ask to speak with their admissions staff. In many instances, a patient does not need to be admitted to a hospital for this type of nursing home admission to occur.