Home Care: The Safe, Attentive and Familiar Nursing Home Alternative

If your loved one requires regular nursing care or assisted living services, you may think that a nursing home is the only option. But, even for those who need specialized attention, home care often is a better choice. With home care, patients benefit from the comfort and safety of their usual surroundings. Here are just three advantages home health care has over nursing home care:

Fewer people = less risk

As we’ve seen across the country, nursing home care can expose residents to increased risk of illness from contagious diseases. This risk existed before the coronavirus -- respiratory infections, such as COVID-19 and the flu, are the leading health risks in nursing homes. Nursing home residents interact with others. They gather in common areas. It can be challenging to separate healthy and ill residents.  

The pandemic has highlighted both the vulnerability of older adults and the benefits of social distancing in reducing the spread of disease. Home care limits patient and caregiver exposure to disease. Patients remain at home, and their interactions are limited to family, friends, and their one-on-one care provider. Home care removes the considerable threat of facility-wide infection.

Care delivered as needed

One misconception in the nursing home/home care debate is that only a nursing home can provide the immediate access to care that patients need. But nursing home care is often delivered only when it’s the patient’s “turn.” For those who need specialized care – such as those with dementia – home care offers a more responsive approach. When a home care nurse or aide is at a patient’s home, they can provide immediate attention and develop a relationship that benefits overall health.

Home care is all about providing a customized approach to care. It is individualized and can accommodate and support a wide variety of conditions and needs, including non-medical services such as personal care.

Add familiarity to a care plan

The new and unfamiliar environment of a nursing home can be an obstacle on the path to good health. Care is much more than a course of treatment. It is much more than medication. It includes the comfort, stress reduction, and calming effect of a positive environment. For most people, no comfort can replace the feeling of home. Familiar surroundings support health and lift spirits.

Home care provides safety, attention, familiarity, and several other benefits over nursing home care. Learn more about Belvedere’s home care services.