When people start aging, their dependence on others to maintain an optimal lifestyle increases. Elderly people need adequate medical care and attention, day-to-day support, and maintenance of where they live. This is why retirement homes were created.
A retirement home is a private care facility that focuses on taking care of aging citizens. It’s also called assisted living home. These facilities provide care and support elderly people need to live their normal, autonomous life. The goal is to ensure seniors receive optimal care and attention while enjoying a normal, independent lifestyle and socializing with people of the same age range.
If you’re considering a retirement home for yourself or a loved one, you’ve to understand how it works and the options available. In this article, we’ll explain the types, benefits, and costs of retirement homes. This is to enable you to choose a facility that suits your needs and budget.
Types of Retirement Homes
Retirement homes vary based on some factors like housing style, lifestyles they support, and personal preferences. Here’re four of them:
Congregate Care
In congregate-care facilities, retirees stay in different housing structures or apartments but they use the same lobby, recreation spaces, and dining rooms. Congregate care communities assist aging people with everything they need for their daily activities. The services and rents are paid for by individuals. However, residents of congregate care homes can apply for housing assistance programs.
Subsidized Senior Housing
The government, through programs, provides subsidized housing for seniors who can’t afford rents and house maintenance bills. Many retirees earn fixed incomes that are not enough for their rents and living expenses. They rely on government assistance for subsidized apartments, where they enjoy services like cooking, transportation, cleaning, and other necessary support.
Retirement Communities
These are well-planned facilities that feature private condominiums, standalone structures, or townhouses. Retirement communities are ideal for seniors who want to live independently. They provide the support seniors need to live their normal, autonomous lifestyle and maintain a healthy social life with fellow residents. This type of retirement home is mainly funded privately. As a result, the cost of living in a retirement community could be high.
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
This category of retirement homes focuses on taking care of both the present and future needs of aging adults. The future needs refer to the medical conditions they may have in the future. A continuing care retirement community doubles as an assisted living home and a nursing home - both within the same facility. Being in the same environment makes the transition from assisted living home to nursing home less traumatizing for users. These facilities are paid for privately. It’s not suitable for seniors that need help from government programs.
What Are the Benefits of a Retirement Home?
Assisted living homes are beneficial. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of retirement homes.
No Worries About Maintenance
One of the things the elderly find difficult is the burden of keeping the house and surroundings clean. As people advance in age, house cleaning becomes difficult to carry out. But with a retirement home, you don’t have to bother about cleaning the apartment. That’s the responsibility of the retirement facility staff.
Access to Professional Care
Receiving the professional support you need at old age is necessary for maintaining a high quality of life. As you advance in age, the ability to perform daily chores, keep the environment clean and take good care of yourself dwindles. Living in a retirement facility makes looking after yourself easier.
At assisted living homes, the staff is well trained and available around the clock to provide the support you need. That’s very much better than living alone! In addition, workers are trained to provide medical assistance and palliative care. So, you’ll receive the support necessary to ensure you don’t miss your medication or doctor’s appointment. In the case of health emergencies, you’ll always have access to adequate medical attention.
Great Social Life
Life can be lonely at old age. Not being able to hang out or visit loved ones regularly affects the social life of seniors. Loneliness, if not addressed properly, can lead to depression. However, staying in an assisted living home makes a lot of difference. There, you’ll be surrounded by seniors of the same age bracket. It provides the opportunity to make friends and have fun doing what you love.
What’s the Cost of a Retirement Home?
The actual cost of an assisted living facility depends on a range of factors, including the type of housing, amenities available, location, services offered, and so on. That said, the monthly cost of a retirement home ranges from $1,000 to $4,000 depending on your location. It’s more expensive in some states than in others.
Conclusion
Get in touch with Illuminate Hospice Care Inc. to learn more about retirement homes. We’re a leading provider of affordable, first-rate hospice care services. We specialize in the physical, emotional, and even spiritual aspects of terminally ill patients and provide help to them. Contact us today!