A common believe amongst many people is that long-term care services are only provided at nursing homes. According to the University of the Rochester Medical Center (2010), Long-term care entangles services such as nursing home care, personal or adult care health care to individuals who have disabilities or above 65 years of age (Para. 1).
Long-term care is rather expensive service. For instance, nursing facilities that offer skilled long-term care, on average, charge between $150 and $ 300 on daily basis, which translate to excess of $80,000 annually.
On the other hand, with reference to All about Long Term Care (2010), custodial home visits thrice per week cost the heights of $90, 000 (Para. 4) annually. Many insurance companies therefore, engineer various policies to cover the expenses.
In as much as family members can help the needy in providing for home care chore such as doing the laundry, cleaning or even cooking and dressing among others, some certain other services can only be provided safely and correctly by qualified and licensed health care providers such as practicing nurses and therapists.
Such services includes home based injuries or illness treatments. Also included in this list are: hospice services, medical equipments, aids for personal care, home modifications and repair of therapy equipments, respite care, home making services, independent living among others.
Home based and community based services (HCBS) enable elderly and individuals who are disabled to live as a community with guaranteed independency in as much as possible. With regard to Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (2010), those who qualify for the HCBS waiver programs demand to be eligible financially for Medicaid (Para. 2) and also must have obtained pre-evaluation admissions that have been approved for nursing level one.
In addition, one needs to be a resident of the respective state in which the nursing home is situated. In these centers, social activities assistance services provisions such as health education and meals are provided under the adult care service. Assisted living take into corporation personal care services, medication and homemaker services but not including room and boarding.
Also under home based and community long term care is assistive technology services provision that entangles insertion of assistive devices, controls and or appliances and adaptive aids, in home respite care, pest control, personal emergency response systems, personal care services, individualized care attendance and intuitional or home based respite care among others.
Secondly, hospice care is available for terminally ill patients and focuses predominantly on palliative as opposed to restorative care. This type of care, not only addresses physical demands of the customers, but also psychological, emotional and spiritual requirements requisite for the patient and also his/her family and friends.
Alternatively home care provider provides these essential services in collaboration with locally established hospice organizations. In the spectra of services offered under this long-term care, includes: supplemental services for instance inpatient respite care specially designed for inpatients that permit home care providers to have a rest from their chores or room and board services so that patients taking homage at nursing centre elects to obtain hospice care.
On the other hand, home health care is meant to provide rehabilitative care for example speech, occupational and physical therapy. Also according to Medicare, on the list in addition, are the personal services for example bathing assistance (Para. 3) For some other services, the physician has to determine whether the patient actually needs them. Such services include assistance in home cleaning, or even shopping for groceries.
Fourthly, opposed to retirement community services, assisted care living facilities provides help to seniors who typically demand more help than is available at retirement community centers. These seniors must not be in need of intensive nursing and medical caring similar to that that is provided in nursing homes.
Though the majority of the elderly in the assisted care living can join directly from homes, majority join them after rehabilitation services offered at nursing homes (Medicare, 2010, Para. 4). Assisted care is meant to bridge between nursing home and the homes for elderly. Some of the facilities are staffed with skilled professional who provide the necessary care for those aged people with memory losses or the last Alzheimer stages.
Reference List
All about Long Term Care. (2010). Cost of Long-term Care. Web.
Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2010). Regulations and guidance. Web.
Medicare. (2010). Health and Human Services: Types of Long-Term Care. Web.
University of Rochester Medical Center. (2010). Types of Long Term Care Facilities. Web.