Nursing vs. At-Home Care: What You Should Know

As loved ones age and begin to require assistance with day to day self-care tasks and other activities, it can be difficult to decide whether at home care or a long-term care facility is best. You want your loved one to receive the highest quality of care, and it’s difficult to know whether or not you can trust someone outside of your family to provide for your loved one’s needs the way that you and your family do. But the benefits to nursing care might surprise you.

You Want Your Loved One to Feel Cared For

A very common concern for family members of those requiring nursing or long-term care is that moving the patient to a long term facility could make them feel isolated, unwanted, or discarded. It’s normal to feel apprehensive about making a life change on behalf of your loved one, especially late in life. The truth is, nursing care can make your loved one feel cared for in ways that he or she never has been before, and it doesn’t mean you need to separate yourself from your family member.

Finding a facility whose level of care and compassion you can trust starts with touring the facility, reading reviews, and looking for feedback from others in the community. Interacting with staff members and visiting your loved one regularly can also help you understand the climate of care within the nursing facility. This means that the time that you do spend with your loved one will focus on bonding in your familial relationship, while compassionate nursing staff meet their clinical care and comfort needs.

Your Loved One Has Complex Care Needs

Although keeping your loved one in his or her (or your) home may seem like the best way to care for them, the truth is that once your loved one is at a late-life stage that requires assistance in day to day tasks, they’re likely to have further medical needs as well. While you may be able to provide the compassionate care that your loved one needs, it’s unlikely you have the medical monitoring equipment, diagnostic tools and know-how to give them the quality care they’ll need. Skilled nursing facilities respond quickly and more efficiently to urgent medical or care needs, with all the tools required to address any medical issue that may arise. This could mean the difference between ife and death during a medical emergency.

Your Loved One Should Feel Seen and Heard

A skilled nursing facility can provide the compassionate and professional care your loved one requires, while surrounding them with a community of people who understand their needs. This includes other long-term care patients who can relate to the challenges of requiring adult care in late life, and a network of medical professionals who have seen and can anticipate your loved one’s individual needs. It may be difficult for your loved one to share or communicate their needs and concerns, and they may not feel that further burdening a loved one with these concerns is practical. A good skilled nursing facility will give your loved one the platform and resources they need to feel seen, heard, and to fully address their needs for care, community and compassion.