Home care vs. assisted living

Making the right choice at the right time

People needing assistance with some activities of daily living (ADLs) use home care services to defer the need to move into an assisted living retirement home. However, there comes a time when it makes more sense to move. Here, we look at how to make that decision. Below, find an overview of the care you receive in each situation, and understanding what importance to place on other factors like price, convenience, etc.

Home care

Home care services provide personal care service in clients' homes, charging for those services on an hourly basis. Some people feel that the comforts of their traditional family home can never be matched by any other environment. Home care companies alleviate difficulties with personal care, anything from bathing to feeding. They can also provide housekeeping services, help with shopping and personal companionship, helping seniors remain in their own home for as long as possible. Our home care portal offers a complete look at what to expect, with a list of services near you and more.

When care for these basic needs is ongoing, consider a move. You don’t want to put off moving indefinitely, without investigating other options. Don't dismiss the idea of a move into assisted living until you compare costs you are paying to remain at home against the many advantages offered by retirement homes.

Assisted living retirement homes

Assisted living communities offer care staff right on site, including nurses and personal support workers. In many communities, proper nursing staff is available around the clock. They also have specialized amenities including care beds, accessible bathrooms and suites designed for optimal mobility.

There is also a community of people with whom you can socialize. Health problems are often exacerbated by loneliness. When people move into an assisted living retirement community they often feel a great rejuvenation. To take a fuller look at the advantages, review our full list of the pros and cons of assisted living communities.

Comparing home care and assisted living

Assistance with personal care, ranging from bathing to feeding to transferring

With home care, personal care needs, like help with bathing or feeding, are charged on an hourly basis. Care is scheduled around the availability of the service’s care staff. Home care service fees range from $45 to $70 or more per hour. If your care needs increase or if you like having the home care service come in, costs may creep higher.

In assisted living, care with these ADL’s may be charged individually. Some care services may be covered under the umbrella monthly charges.

You can do a one-to-one comparison of a home care service to an assisted living community, using our senior care comparison.

Medication administration

Home care companies offer nursing care management of medicine, offering some peace of mind and security to both seniors and their families. Again, this service is charged on an hourly basis and is scheduled around the availability of care staff.

In assisted living, the administration of medicine (when this health care service is available) is part of the routine of the community. As with care services, this service may be charged separately, unless it is under the umbrella of assisted living care services.

Isolation vs. community

People who remain in their own home keep their independence. However, if you are widowed or otherwise alone, loneliness can become unhealthy. Home care services like senior companionship and adult day programs can help alleviate this. These are both wonderful ways of improving your social wellbeing.

In a retirement home, there is a wealth of social opportunities, many of these unavailable by any other means. Many people rediscover dormant social skills in a communal environment like that of a retirement home. It’s also true that you now have to share a hallway with other people, and there may be noises that you need to get used to. But people do get used to those.

They often remark how nice it is to have so many things to do every day (they can’t help but get involved) and the value of always having someone around to talk to. Compared to living alone, moving into a retirement community has many benefits to personal wellbeing that may, in fact, stem from the renewal in people’s social life after they move into a community that offers rich peer interaction.

Cost of home care vs. the cost of assisted living

Home care services offer very targeted help that can perfectly match your needs and come within your budget. However, there comes a time when, financially it makes more sense to move.

We encourage people to use a calculator to compare costs they are paying to remain in their own home with what assoisted living retirement home costs. Be sure to take a full look at all the weekly, monthly and annual costs you will no longer deal with.

Case studies in home care vs. assisted living

Comfort Life has put together case studies that help personify a comparison of aging at home versus a move into an assisted living community:

In 2017, we looked at aging at home with support and how this affected costs, then how costs changed with a move into a retirement home.

In 2012, we looked at home care support from two different angles, aging at home with agency care, or with live-in care. We also looked at how things change when the couple moved to a retirement community with care.

Know when it's time to move forward

Many people are very focused on the idea of remaining in their own home. Hiring home care services seems to be an obvious way of remaining in familiar surroundings. However, there are advantages to living in a retirement community that are often not taken into account. If you can get past the idea of change, and you fully understand the costs you will be paying, it’s important to really consider the advantages of living in a retirement community. Moving can be stressful but the vast majority of people make a complete adjustment within several weeks. Having talked to many people who have made the move will soon say something along the lines of “This is my home now.”

The best way to ease yourself through this transition is to take a trial stay at a local retirement home. Many communities allow trial stays for several nights or even longer. When you do this, there’s no commitment on your part. You will get the chance to see things from close up, learn about the life of the community and get to meet others in assisted living and have made the adjustment ahead of you.

Many assisted living communities are also completely updated and modern, with bright interiors, wide hallways and accessibility built in throughout the suites. You may find that the contrast with your own home is additionally appealing. If you have shied away from spending money on updating your home with grab bars and other accessibility features, you will find how handy and how much these improve your life when they are all around you. In addition, there is brightness to many retirement home interiors. You do not know what effect these will have on you, until you actually give them a try. And in addition to all those advantages, there is a community of friends who are all “right outside the door.”

Assisted living retirement communities

Click here to refine this list

Add to Shortlist

Tapestry at Arbutus Walk

2799 Yew Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6K 4W2

A senior living community in Vancouver, BC offering luxurious seniors' apartments in an active community, along with assisted living and other options.