MAKING A LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY YOUR HOME

We hear a lot about long-term care nowadays. It seems as if we’ll all need long-term care at some point in our lives, if we’re lucky enough to live a long life.

But why is that? Where did this concept of long-term care come from? Twenty years ago there wasn’t such a heavy focus on our population’s long-term care needs, so is this need for long-term care a by-product of actual, societal trends or is it the product of better marketing techniques by long-term care service providers?

Probably, a little of both.

The concept of long-term care has changed dramatically in the past 10 to 15 years. Before then, long-term care essentially meant a nursing home. And, although necessary, no one – or no one I’ve ever met – wants to go to a nursing home. In fact, people seem to fear nursing homes.

Because of this fear, people would forego needed care, remaining in their homes beyond the point at which it was safe. Realizing that people were foregoing needed care, various companies began providing forms of long-term care that were less frightening to people than nursing homes. Necessity is the mother of invention and money is the engine that drives the wheels of the creative mind.

Those creative minds developed concepts such as adult communities, home health aides, adult day care centers, assisted living residences (ALR), and continuing care retirement communities (CCRC). All of these long-term care services provide alternatives to nursing home care.

Today, a person does not have to forego long-term care to a point where he places himself in danger because he fears entering a nursing home. And, with that fear allied, more and more people are obtaining long-term care services sooner, so more and more people are receiving long-term care services for a significant portion of their lives.

Yet, with greater options comes greater confusion. People don’t know what level of care they require and don’t understand what form of long-term care facility will meet their needs.

In my opinion, the best way to understand what type of facility is right for you is to visit the various facilities in your area, take a tour, and ask the facility’s employees questions about the type of care they provide and the cost of those services. If you can’t take these tours, have a family member or trusted friend do it for you.

Successful long-term care requires you to be comfortable with the type and level of care being provided to you. The biggest fear that people have when they require some level of long-term care is the fear associated with losing control over their lives. If a person cannot take care of himself in some manner, no matter how small, he is inclined to feel helpless – being dependent on others to provide services that he used to be able to provide for himself.

The person who will receive the long-term care must be comfortable with the care that is being provided and the manner in which it is being provided. And, in this respect, each long-term care provider may differ. For instance, I have had some clients who love a particular long-term care facility and others who hate the very same facility. I’m confident that facility is not different.

What is different is the person’s perception of the facility. So, in this sense, not all facilities are the same. Now, to explore the various facilities in a given, geographic location may take a little time – but no one said moving is simple. When people buy a new home, they might look at 20 to 30 homes before settling on one they like, a house that they can call home. Don’t think looking for the right long-term care facility is any different.

In fact, it’s probably the perception that a long-term care facility is something other than a home that lends support to the fear the phrase “long-term care” engenders. If you approach it as shopping for a new home, a home that offers the amenity of care, there may be less fear than if you approach it as looking for an institution in which to place mom or dad.