Understanding the difference between Assisted Living and a Nursing Home is essential to effectively weighing your senior living options.
Assisted Living promotes independence and emphasizes wellness in a warm, dignified, community setting. Residents live in their own private apartment that they can furnish and decorate as they choose. Residents choose what they want to eat at meals in restaurant style dining rooms, and they have the freedom to decide which activities they want to participate in or how they want to spend their day.
Nursing homes take care of people who are sick and need round-the-clock nursing care. Often, their institutionalized settings are not conducive to encouraging independence. Health care experts estimate up to 30% of elders residing in nursing homes do not need round-the-clock care. Assisted Living offers these elders a place to call home which offers more cheerful surroundings, privacy, space and dignity than is typically found in a nursing home, and at a lower cost.
More on Assisted Living Vs Nursing Homes at our AgeRight Blog.