Nursing home vs memory care?

[Anonymous]

I'm reading a Frontline / ProPublica article and see that nursing homes have more oversight than do companies categorized as "assisted living," which have memory care units.

So, I'm wondering if it might be better to use a nursing home??

--A nursing home is rated by Medicare.
--Quality checks happen more often with nursing homes than with assisted living.

Previously, I would not have considered a nursing home but now I am thinking it might be better due to the oversight.

What has been your experience?

[Anonymous]

A thread from a few months ago addressed this topic, to a degree:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1318984.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A thread from a few months ago addressed this topic, to a degree:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1318984.page

Very useful. Thank you!

OP

[Anonymous]

Memory care is in a nursing home. What is the situation?

[Anonymous]

Memory care is memory care and nursing home is nursing home (generally). You can also find memory care in confusing care/assisted living facilities. Memory care is super expensive and nursing homes are even more so if paying out of pocket (and provide skilled nursing 24/7. You generally don’t need a nursing home unless you have a breathing tube, feeding tube, colostomy or something similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Memory care is memory care and nursing home is nursing home (generally). You can also find memory care in confusing care/assisted living facilities. Memory care is super expensive and nursing homes are even more so if paying out of pocket (and provide skilled nursing 24/7. You generally don’t need a nursing home unless you have a breathing tube, feeding tube, colostomy or something similar.

Thank you! These terms are used to mean different experiences and offerings.

They are all so expensive.

OP

[Anonymous]

OP, I would start with what the needs are and then go from there. I have had a parent in assisted living and then memory care and my advice for the latter is to find, if possible, a non profit, and do not be swayed by what fancy spaces a facility has or its "activities" because if dementia is in the picture, the only things to care about are the violation records, the staff ratio, the staff longevity/turnover, and the staff training. I moved my mom from a fancy PE owned assisted living with memory care wing to a stand alone, non profit run small memory care in a small cottage like setting. I thought she would want the bigger, nicer rooms but what I didnt udnerstand is that when memory care is involved, none of that matters. the only things are staff ratio, training, oversight, etc.

Nursing homes are very, very expensive and are for folks who need more medical care beyond what assisted living or memory care can provide. Medicare will sometimes cover a short portion (like rehab) but rarely long term.

psa to everyone to do their advanced directives, including things like feeding tubes. I know the last thing I'd want is to be kept barely alive on a tube and catheter, at 25k a month, with no hope for meaningful recovery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I would start with what the needs are and then go from there. I have had a parent in assisted living and then memory care and my advice for the latter is to find, if possible, a non profit, and do not be swayed by what fancy spaces a facility has or its "activities" because if dementia is in the picture, the only things to care about are the violation records, the staff ratio, the staff longevity/turnover, and the staff training. I moved my mom from a fancy PE owned assisted living with memory care wing to a stand alone, non profit run small memory care in a small cottage like setting. I thought she would want the bigger, nicer rooms but what I didnt udnerstand is that when memory care is involved, none of that matters. the only things are staff ratio, training, oversight, etc.

Nursing homes are very, very expensive and are for folks who need more medical care beyond what assisted living or memory care can provide. Medicare will sometimes cover a short portion (like rehab) but rarely long term.

psa to everyone to do their advanced directives, including things like feeding tubes. I know the last thing I'd want is to be kept barely alive on a tube and catheter, at 25k a month, with no hope for meaningful recovery.

Thank you. Did you find a nonprofit in the DC area? I would like to move away from the billion-dollar corporation.