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Most people think an assisted living facility and an old age home are the same – places where you can put your elderly family members to enjoy their senior years. There are, however, a few differences between the two.
Assisted living facilities are senior living options for people with minor needs for assistance who can still do most daily tasks independently. On the other hand, old age homes are facilities where seniors who need major assistance can receive around-the-clock care and emergency services.
This isn’t the only difference between the two, but it is the most pronounced. Let’s examine major differences to make the best choice for your loved one.
1. Amount of Assistance Given to the Residents
The biggest difference between an assisted living facility and an old age home is the amount of assistance provided to the resident. Assisted living facilities are built for older adults that are still relatively independent. Old age homes, sometimes called nursing homes, are made for older adults suffering from more debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and other physical or mental ailments.
An assisted living facility is like living close to a hospital, just in case, something goes wrong. Staff is in the facility to help out as needed with minor things. Perhaps the resident needs assistance with daily showers, for example. If an emergency does happen, there’s a staff there to handle things, but most of the time, residents of assisted living facilities manage on their own.
An old age home provides constant assistance to the residents. Usually, a person suffering from strong physical or mental ailments will end up in an old age home. An example might be an elderly person confined to a wheelchair who needs around-the-clock assistance.
The nursing staff usually helps schedule doctor’s appointments and assists the resident in attending the appointment. Many old age homes even have their own transportation vans to ensure residents get where they need to go on time.
In many cases, assisted living facility residents have very little interaction with the staff. They go about their lives, and the staff goes about theirs. Nurses in assisted living facilities may come in once or twice daily to help administer medication or record vital signs, but overall they’re uninvolved.
In an old age home, however, the staff is typically in the room multiple times a day. In fact, in most cases, people who reside in old homes spend most of their time in the common areas of the facility so that a close eye can be kept on them. We’ll get more into that in a moment.
I also recommend reading my article about the abilities the elderly need for assisted living. 4 Abilities Seniors Need to Live in Assisted Living
2. How Much Independence the Residents Have
Since assisted living facilities are built for residents to live practically independently, they enjoy significantly more independence than residents of old age homes. The residents of an assisted living facility are typically free to roam about the facility and have plenty of space outdoors.
Residents of assisted living facilities can also leave the facility significantly more often, usually without needing to be accompanied by a family member. In most situations, the resident does need to have a plan in place for where they are going and when they will return. Staff still prefer that residents leave with family members, but they aren’t required to do so.
Assisted living facilities must allow residents to leave without intervention for religious services and medical care.
On the other hand, residents of old age homes are fairly limited in what they are allowed to do. In many cases, the resident’s daily activities are planned out by the staff on duty that day. The resident is rarely able to intervene and change the plan.
Most residents of old age homes are required to remain in the facility or designated outdoor spaces at all times. As I mentioned above, residents often spend nearly all their time in the facility’s common areas, where staff can monitor them. This can cause residents to grow bored with time, and occasionally, forced social interactions can occur.
3. Safety Measures for the Residents
Assisted living facilities and old age homes are quite different in their safety measures.
Since assisted living facilities are designed to allow residents to live independently, there’s also more opportunity for injury. However, injuries aren’t enormously common since the residents of assisted living facilities typically can take care of themselves in their daily lives.
In many cases, residents of assisted living facilities can enter and exit the facility at all times, and they are usually responsible for ensuring that their rooms are locked. Some assisted living facilities even have rooms that lead directly outside. These are similar to apartments for seniors. Moreover, as I’ve explained in my guide, many states allow you to install security cameras in an assisted living facility without permission from the manager. Can You Put Cameras in Assisted Living Facilities?
Old age homes put many safety measures in place compared to assisted living facilities. The home usually has twenty-four-hour security teams, and the residents are confined to their rooms past a certain time.
In an old age home, all things are built into the facility. Residents reside inside the facility nearly one hundred percent of the time unless they’re taken outside by staff or family members. Since everything is so close, the residents often feel more secure in an old age home.
There are also plenty of safety measures in place for the health of the residents. Trained nurses and doctors are always available, and the vitals of the residents are taken frequently. The resident can rest assured that they will be taken care of, whether it’s a minor or a major issue.
4. Availability of Emergency Services
Old-age homes always have emergency services on call. In many situations, they are present in the home even when not immediately needed.
This is because residents in old age homes usually suffer from more violent conditions than residents of assisted living facilities. People who reside in old age homes usually have failing health, and more often than not, something goes wrong. These facilities need to have emergency staff on hand because sometimes there isn’t enough time to get to a hospital.
On the other hand, assisted living facilities usually have staff available to call in emergency services as needed. The staff is trained to handle minor issues, but emergency services will be contacted if a major problem arises.
As with living independently, however, the resident will have to be transported to the nearest hospital to be treated for the problem. In contrast, residents are frequently treated at the facility with an old age home.
5. Amount of Companionship Provided to the Residents
Living in an assisted living facility is very similar to living completely independently. The residents don’t adhere to any strict schedule and typically go about their day however they see fit. For this reason, most people living in assisted living facilities are not getting much companionship.
Many older adults keep to themselves. As they age and children grow up and become more distant, they spend more time alone. In an assisted living facility, the residents may interact with the staff here and there or with various other residents they’ve encountered. Still, overall they spend significantly more time alone than residents of old age homes.
Assisted living facility residents often have family members come and go throughout the week, but they aren’t exposed to companionship, especially with people their own age, on a daily basis.
Since old age homes usually have residents residing in the common areas of the facility, they spend a lot more time interacting with other people. Be it the staff or other residents; these people are usually in communication with, or at least in the presence of, other people throughout the day.
Whether this is a good or bad thing is debatable, and it is highly dependent upon the individual’s situation. In some cases, residents of old age homes become depressed with the amount of interaction they are experiencing, especially if they’ve maintained more of an introverted personality.
However, many residents love the companionship they experience living in an old age home. This is especially true of residents who do not have family members who often visit. Too often, children place their parents in these facilities and walk away, only visiting on special occasions.
Living in an old age home provides these types of residents with ample opportunity to connect with other people in the same stage of life as themselves, and often, it makes living worthwhile for these people.
6. Cost of Living in the Facility
Both assisted living facilities and old age homes come with major expenses. However, in general, assisted living facilities cost significantly less than old-age homes.
This is because the resident is receiving less care overall. As I mentioned, in an assisted living facility, the resident maintains most of their independence and lives as normal. There are more costs in an old age home because more care is needed.
Extra staff must be hired in old age homes, and more work must be done. Let’s break down the cost of living in each facility quickly.
On average, an assisted living facility costs about $3,628 per month. That’s still a lot, but as you’ll see in a moment, it’s only half of what it costs to live in an old age home. This price usually covers the apartment the resident is staying in, any utilities, cleaning services, and any additional charges for the resident’s care.
An old age home usually costs between $6,844 to $7,700 per month – almost double the amount of living in an assisted living facility! This price covers all the costs associated with the resident’s daily care, including bathing, administering medications, and cleaning.
The good news is, if you choose to place your family member in an old age home, you usually don’t have to pay that much out of pocket. If the resident is on Medicare and Medicaid, it will usually cover the cost. However, this is only the case if the old age home adheres to national and state licensing requirements.
You’ll nearly always have to pay for an assisted living facility out of pocket. This can come as a nasty shock if you’ve recently encountered a situation where you need to place a family member in an assisted living facility. The reason it’s not covered is that the government considers assisted living facilities “custodial care,” meaning that it’s unnecessary.
However, whether or not it is necessary varies from family to family and individual to individual.
7. Living Accommodation for the Residents
Assisted living facilities and old age homes have massive differences in their living accommodations. While at first thought, you may think that because they both have rooms at the facility, it’s fairly similar, this is not the case.
Assisted living facilities usually offer private apartments or rooms. As I mentioned, sometimes these apartments lead directly outdoors, and sometimes they lead into a hallway where the resident can go through an access door that leads outside.
The residents of assisted living facilities can bring their furniture in most cases and usually have the freedom to decorate their room or apartment however they see fit. The apartments and rooms also usually come equipped with a kitchen for the residents to continue preparing their meals.
They can also typically have guests whenever they would like to without adhering to any schedule, as long as the guests are respectful of the boundaries.
Assisted living facilities usually keep couples together, allowing them to live daily life normally.
Old-age homes, however, have far more restricted living spaces. While this is not the case for old age homes, in general, the resident will have access to a small single housing room, similar to a long-term hospital room.
The room will usually be equipped with furniture from the facility, including the resident’s bed.
If residents come in as a couple, they are usually separated, but staff often try to keep couples in adjoining spaces.
Conclusion
In many ways, assisted living facilities and old age homes are very similar, but they do have plenty of differences.
While they are both designed for the elderly to live the rest of their lives, it is often a fair question to ask where your family member would fit best.
As a review, assisted living facilities are designed for residents who can still live relatively independently. On the other hand, old age homes are designed for residents who need major assistance with daily life and would benefit from having emergency services nearby.
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