Long-term care means regular assistance with medical care(nursing, medicating, physical therapy) or personal needs(eating, dressing, bathing, moving around)provided by someone outside an older person’s family.

Long-Term Care

More than 21.4 million Americans resided in skilled nursing facilities. Another one million senior citizens live in various types of assisted living communities where they receive help with some of the routine activities of daily living,

There are many varieties of long term care.

Choices range from completely independent living, part-time home care, adult daycare, assisted living residential communities to nursing facilities. There are skilled care facilities for Alzheimer’s disease patients and hospice care for the terminally ill.

Some long-term care is temporary-for example. just long enough to help an older person recover from a broken hip or stroke

It is always a good idea for those with elderly family members to have some sort of plan in place before a significantly life-altering event occurs. Thousands of families every year have to deal with these issues for the first time.

Elderly individuals who need assistance with daily activities or skilled nursing care can actually lead fuller lives in these senior–oriented communities than they would at home, where they may be more limited in their activities and social interaction. Even their physical well-being may improve in care facilities because their physical and emotional conditions, diet, socialization, and sleep patterns are being monitored on a regular basis.