When Is It Time to Plan for Long-Term Care?

Wondering if it’s time to think about care options for your loved one? Planning ahead gives families more choices. WesleyLife helps you understand the signs that they may need additional support, so you can make a thoughtful decision.

See how long-term care planning may fit into your family’s needs. Use this guide as your North Star to discover the benefits of long-term care and how it compares to alternate options and determine the ideal fit for your family member.

What Is Long-Term Care?

Long-term care provides 24/7 support for individuals who need help managing activities of daily living (ADLs) and/or require continuous supervision and care for ongoing health conditions. It’s delivered in community settings with skilled nursing to enable residents to live comfortably, safely, and with dignity.

Today’s long-term care communities are vibrant, homey spaces with modern furnishings, features, and access to premium care from skilled caregivers. Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect at a WesleyLife long-term care community:

• Personalized care plans
• Therapy and rehabilitation
• Medication management
• Private and semiprivate rooms
• Three nutritious meals a day
• Engaging experiences

When Is It Time for Long-Term Care?

Start planning for long-term care in advance to support your loved one, and continue in more earnest once they begin to struggle significantly in their daily life. Do they struggle with eating and dressing or need nursing care? These are clear indicators for long-term care, and they’re just part of a larger picture. Start here and consider how your family member’s living situation fulfills or falls short of their core needs.

Safety

Determine if their living environment and available assistance are sufficient. Think about whether or not the space has safety gaps you should be concerned about.

• Is it security-enabled?
• Is help available in case of an emergency?
• Is it accessible with minimal steps or a walk-in shower?

Support

Remember that you play a role too! Consider whether or not you or other family members are nearby to help and if you have the physical strength, knowledge, and time to meet their increasing needs.

Quality of Life

Ensure that your loved one isn’t just getting by but is also actually enjoying life. Many older adults experience loneliness and isolation due to a lack of social connection or mobility, and moving to a long-term care community opens up new opportunities for a better quality of life.

Still unsure if it’s the right time for long-term care planning? Look for these signs that your family member’s lifestyle is no longer sustainable.

• Increasing medical needs, including chronic conditions that require regular intervention or skilled nursing care
• Mobility issues or falls that signal a need for ongoing supervision or help with transfers to support their safety
• Difficulty with ADLs, such as bathing, dressing, and personal hygiene.
• Medication adherence issues, such as skipping doses or accidentally overdosing
• Caregiver burnout when you or family members feel physically or mentally exhausted

Weighing Long-Term Care vs. Alternatives

Because care options are more robust than ever, navigating long-term care planning or deciding between alternatives can be a challenge. Consider the depth of your loved one’s needs and the ideal setting to support them. Long-term care stands out as the primary option for continuous clinical care.

Long-Term Care vs. Home Care

As a service designed to provide frequent assistance with ADLs or medical needs, long-term care is ideal for someone whose quality of life and independence have dramatically decreased. Families often pursue this advanced level of care if less intensive at-home care can no longer meet their family member’s needs.

At-home services give people hands-on support right in their home, providing medical and nonmedical assistance to preserve their independence. This is most suitable for individuals who need only limited assistance, so consider at-home care if your loved one could use an extra hand around the house or basic medical support, including:

• Household chores
• Companionship
• Injection administration
• Postsurgical rehabilitation
• Physical, occupational, and speech therapy

Assisted Living vs. Long-Term Care

The difference between assisted living and long-term care is that while long-term care offers extensive support, such as skilled nursing or clinical care for chronic conditions, assisted living more closely resembles independent living with the added bonus of supporting a continuum of care. Because of this, residents can seamlessly transition to various levels of care if/when their needs evolve (and even if their spouse’s needs are different).

Assisted living residents retain substantial autonomy. This may be suitable if they could benefit from minor assistance with ADLs, including:

• Bathing
• Cooking
• Eating
• Grooming
• Taking medications

FAQs

What are the signs someone needs long-term care?

Long-term care may be necessary when a loved one struggles significantly with ADLs, and their safety, quality of life, and access to support are diminished. Consider planning for long-term care if they have demanding medical needs, limited mobility, or other continuous needs that a family caregiver can’t provide.

When is home care no longer enough?

Home care services primarily focus on basic assistance with household chores or semiregular medical or nonmedical needs, such as therapies and postsurgical rehabilitation. If a loved one needs frequent assistance with ADLs or has chronic health conditions, it may be ideal to begin long-term planning.

How do I know if my parent needs long-term care?

If a parent can no longer independently manage ADLs, struggles with mobility, or has a chronic health condition that exceeds what you or another community living environment can support, long-term care may be the right fit. Regularly evaluate their physical and emotional needs, consulting their health care providers to determine next steps.

Can someone go straight from home to long-term care?

While at-home care is usually a starting point for many people, someone may transition directly from at-home to long-term care in certain cases. This may happen in the event of an unexpected health emergency, such as a fall, or due to rapid decline from a chronic health condition.

Discover Long-Term Care at a WesleyLife Community

Long-term care planning for seniors in your life can feel overwhelming, but finding the right community living environment provides peace of mind for everyone to move forward with ease.

Long-term care provides continuous health care access for individuals with complex needs that family caregivers can’t support. Choose the right level of support to help your loved one continue living with dignity, and rest assured that they’re receiving the care they need.

Wondering whether long-term care is the right fit? Take our brief assessment.

See how WesleyLife can help. Find a community near you to explore community living options and streamline the transition.