What Are the Differences Between Home Health Care Services and a Nursing Home?

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What Are the Differences Between Home Health Care Services and a Nursing Home?

If you or a loved one requires care, you want to make sure you do all of your research when deciding on the best option. In most cases, that starts with considering home health vs nursing home services.

Age in place
The biggest benefit of home health care is the fact that you can remain in your home when recovering from an illness, injury, or a hospital stay. This kind of care is also open to seniors who want to prevent an illness, injury, or a hospital stay from occurring in the first place.

Many of the same services that are available in the nursing home are available when you opt to receive care at home. Therapists, like physical and occupational therapists, can work with you in the comfort of your own home, while short-term nursing services can provide you with the care you need to get back up on your feet. Depending on your needs, additional services like long-term nursing and personal care services can also be provided, enabling seniors to age in place at home for as long as possible.

Full spectrum of care
Many seniors don’t like the idea of going to the nursing home, but it does have some benefits over receiving care in the home. The biggest is the fact that a nursing home can provide a full range of care services, and they can do it at a moment’s notice.

Nursing homes also offer more long-term care options. So for example, if a surgery requires you to receive home health care services, but you also suffer from a chronic condition and require help with self-care activities, like bathing, a nursing home can provide you with all of these services. In addition, should you require an increase in assistance as you age, you can receive additional services quickly and easily, when your plan would have to be reevaluated if you’re being cared for at home.

Although the nursing home can provide a wide range of care services, it’s also important to mention that round-the-clock care in a housing facility can be expensive. That’s why it’s always worth your time to look into home health services first.

At Life & Health Care, we can help you weigh the pros and cons of home health vs nursing home care and provide you with advice on which services will enhance the health and safety of you or a loved one. Contact us to start discussing your needs today.