When a loved one’s health deteriorates and they need to receive care services, there are a range of elderly care options available, and often it is up to their family to help decide which one is the best for them.

People are living longer – the average life expectancy for an American is now 81.1 years for women and 76.1 years for men, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reports – and the advances in medicine that have helped to make this possible should be celebrated. However, it does mean that elderly people are living for a longer time with more, and often complex, conditions than previous generations have. These conditions can be anything from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s. This means that caring for an elderly person in their own home can get progressively more difficult as their age and conditions advance.

Caring for an elderly person in their own home can be difficult for family members. Often, children of elderly people will already be busy with work and caring for their own children, and will simply not have the time needed to provide proper elder care. When juggling their own responsibilities with caring gets to be too much, looking into professional care may be the right step.

There are services available where paid caregivers can come in on a regular basis to help an elderly person with personal care tasks such as bathing, dressing and providing medication. It is important to note that there is only so much these caregivers can do in their allotted timeslot. They are also often limited to providing the basics, and cannot deal with more complex conditions.

Adult day care services are another option. As the name suggests, these look after the needs of adults during the day – and can help to give their family caregiver a break – and provide a variety of activities and health services.

Elderly care in a residential home

When a person’s care needs increase, the best option for them may be to move into a residential care home. While some may not like the idea of moving out of what might have been their home for decades, it may be necessary if their condition requires round-the clock care, or if it is simply unsafe for them to remain in their current place of residence.

It is important to know what type of care you are looking for while selecting a residential home. Residential care settings have trained professionals on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week, who can provide specialized and personal medical assistance . For example, if the resident has dementia, many homes have staff who have received specialist training in ways to care for people with the condition.

At an assisted living community such as Bright Horizon, there is a range of elderly care services provided by the staff for conditions including diabetes, as well as on-site medical visits from specialists such as a podiatrists, speech therapists or occupational therapists.

In addition to receiving care, residents have other benefits that can boost their wellbeing, the impact of which cannot be underestimated. For example, loneliness can become a big problem for elderly people who receive care in their own home or from relatives, and spend long periods of time on their own in between visits. In a small facility like Bright Horizon, where there are only a maximum of six residents at any one time, they get to know other residents and caregivers well and form strong friendships. If you are looking for the most effective and comprehensive form of elderly care, then moving into a residential home might just be the best way to get the best in healthcare and quality of life.