The Complete Guide to Long-Term Care

Long-term care provides a safe and supportive environment where older adults benefit from round-the-clock access to skilled nursing care and other forms of support, according to their needs.

You may hear this form of care or the environment in which it’s delivered referred to as a “nursing home.” However, this phrase tends to evoke outdated stereotypes that are, gladly, far from accurate for many senior living organizations today. Modern long-term care communities empower older adults to enjoy a vibrant and fulfilling lifestyle while receiving the extensive level of support they need to thrive.

What’s Included in Long-Term Care?

Long-term care encompasses a broad range of services, including:

• Hands-on assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, dressing, and eating
• Skilled nursing care for ongoing health conditions or disabilities
• Access to convenient amenities and services, such as transportation and meal preparation

What Is Life Like for Long-Term Care Residents?

Long-term care residents in WesleyLife communities enjoy a high level of dignity and autonomy while having kind, competent team members available to support their daily needs. Long-term care communities include both private and semiprivate suites, and residents can personalize the decor, set the temperature to their comfort level, and generally enjoy as much autonomy as possible while knowing that a helping hand isn’t far away.

Residents also enjoy the benefits of community life. From planned events and experiences (ranging from fitness classes to movie nights) to casual meetups with friends and shared meals, long-term care communities are vibrant places that empower residents to pursue joy every day.

How does this level of living compare to other options you might find in a community? Long-term care exists within a continuum of other lifestyle options that offer different amounts and types of support, including:

• Independent living: Independent living is designed for active older adults who want a maintenance-free lifestyle with access to amenities and community life, but who don’t require assistance with daily tasks or clinical support.
• Assisted living: Assisted living also offers help with ADLs in a residential setting, but assisted living residents generally can live more independently than those in long-term care. Long-term care is reserved for individuals with more complex or chronic medical needs that require ongoing nursing care.
• Memory support: Like long-term care, memory support offers high-touch care. However, memory support is specialized specifically for those with dementia. It features secured environments and specialized therapies and experiences that you may not find in a long-term care setting.
• Short-term rehabilitation: Short-term rehab offers ongoing skilled nursing care, as is offered in long-term care, but this service is designed to help a person recover from surgery or illness and return home, while long-term care provides ongoing, permanent support.
• Adult day services: Unlike the 24/7 residential nature of long-term care, adult day services provide supervision and social engagement to older adults who rely on help from family caregivers outside of that time.  

Overall, long-term care offers the most extensive level of residential care — aside from memory support, which is designed specifically for individuals with cognitive challenges related to dementia.

No matter your loved one’s needs and preferences, a level of living designed to be an ideal fit for them is available. If you’re comparing assisted living vs. long-term care, for example, and aren’t sure which option makes the most sense, it’s wise to learn more about the differences and speak with your loved one, their health care providers, and a senior living organization, such as WesleyLife, to determine the best path forward.

The decision to transition a loved one into long-term care is rarely a simple one. It’s often paved with a complex mix of emotions. The greatest fear many families face is that their loved one will "lose themselves" in a clinical or institutional environment. At WesleyLife communities, our goal is the exact opposite: to provide an environment where a resident’s cultural, spiritual, and personal identity can flourish as the burdens of daily care are lifted.

We believe that needing more physical support should never mean losing your voice. We prioritize each resident’s dignity and autonomy, ensuring they remain in the driver’s seat of their care as much as possible.

What Is Person-Directed Living?

Modern long-term care has shifted away from the institutional model of the past toward a philosophy that places individual preferences and choices at the forefront of every resident’s experience. This philosophy is reflected in the small, meaningful details of the day. At a WesleyLife community, you won't encounter rigid, hospital-like "rules." Instead, residents and their loved ones are empowered to shape their lifestyle.

Some practical ways person-directed living plays out are through:

Individualized Care Plans

We don't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to caring for residents. Every care plan is a living document that’s co-created with the resident, their family, and their health care provider(s), that respects their specific health needs and preferences.

A Homelike Environment

Our long-term care communities feature private and semiprivate suites that residents can make fully their own, along with warm and welcoming common spaces, such as living rooms and kitchens. These households don’t feel like a clinical setting but a comfortable, homey atmosphere.

Autonomy in Routines

If your loved one always starts their morning with a quiet cup of coffee and the news or enjoys a late-night stroll, those routines can continue seamlessly in long-term care. We honor residents’ preferred times for sleep, meals, showers, and more.

Deep-Rooted Relationships

Team members take the time to truly get to know each resident, learning their stories, their favorite traditions, and the small details that make them who they are.

Spiritual and Cultural Support

Whether it’s honoring a specific religious tradition, a lifelong passion, or a unique cultural practice, we ensure these elements remain central to the resident’s daily life.

A Partnership with Families

Loved ones, such as spouses and children, can play a significant role in shaping care plans and helping team members understand how best to support each resident. Person-directed living relies on a close partnership between our team and family members. By working together, we ensure that every aspect of your loved one is nourished by a community that respects their past and empowers their future.

When you entrust your loved one’s care to someone else, you want to feel total assurance that they’re being cared for with compassion, grace, and excellence. Our care teams can offer that peace of mind.

Team Members

In our communities, you won’t just find "staff" — you’ll find dedicated team members who are chosen for both their high-level clinical skills and their love for people in their care. Every team member, from custodial team members to nurses and therapists, cares deeply for our residents, and they often form close connections.

Specialized Medical Coordination

We act as the bridge between your loved one and their broader health care network. Our team works in close coordination with primary care physicians and specialists to ensure care plans are followed accurately and updated as needs change. To make life easier for families, we also provide coordinated transportation to off-site medical appointments, ensuring no gap in care occurs.

A Seamless Continuum of Support

One of the greatest advantages of the WesleyLife network is our ability to offer a truly seamless transition if needs evolve. Unlike many long-term care providers, we offer palliative and hospice services directly within our communities (or wherever our clients call home). This means that if your loved one requires specialized comfort care or end-of-life support, they can receive it in the place where they’re most comfortable, surrounded by the team members who already know and feel connected to them.

The cost of long-term care varies widely based on factors such as geographic location, available amenities, and the level of clinical support provided. National averages currently stand at $10,798 monthly for a private room and $9,581 for a semiprivate room.

While this cost may initially seem high, it’s helpful to consider the full picture of what that cost entails. A monthly long-term care fee replaces almost every expense associated with living at home, including:

• Mortgage/rent, property taxes, and insurance
• Home maintenance and repairs
• Utilities
• Meals
• In-home professional care
• Transportation

Self-Pay Options

Most long-term care is funded through private pay, with residents drawing on a combination of:

• Personal savings
• Pensions
• Social Security
• Proceeds from a home sale

For many older adults who have saved responsibly and planned for their futures, long-term care offers a highly valuable way to spend their assets.

Insurance Coverage

It’s a common misconception that Medicare pays for long-term care. In reality, Medicare can help with short-term, rehabilitative stays (typically up to 100 days) and doesn’t cover permanent residential care.

However, other forms of insurance and financial planning may help:

• Medicaid: For those who meet specific state-defined income and asset requirements, Medicaid may provide assistance with long-term care costs.
• LTCI: If your loved one has a long-term care insurance (LTCI) policy, they can file a claim to seek coverage for long-term care. However, depending on the policy’s terms, they likely will have to pay out of pocket during an elimination period before benefits kick in, and coverage may come with daily limits.
• CCaH: Continuing care at home (CCaH) programs offer coverage for future care needs while empowering members with wellness benefits as soon as they join. These programs are a great option for active older adults who want to plan for potential long-term care (or other care) costs down the road.

The WesleyLife Promise

We believe that no one should fear for their future because of financial circumstances beyond their control. Through our Good Samaritan and Shepherd Funds, we promise that if a resident outlives their financial resources through no fault of their own, they will never be asked to leave their home with us. This ensures that your loved one will continue to receive the same high-quality care and remain in the community they love, regardless of their ability to pay.

The transition to long-term care is a significant life event, both for the individual moving and for the family members supporting them. By approaching this change with a clear plan and open communication, you can help your loved one feel secure, respected, and ready for their next chapter.

Deciding When It’s Time for Long-Term Care

Determining when to move to a long-term care community is a highly personal decision, which must factor in several key considerations:

• Expert opinions: Consult with your loved one’s primary care physician or specialists to assess if their medical needs exceed what can be safely managed at home or in assisted living.
• Continuous support needs: Monitor for frequent falls, medication errors, poor hygiene, unintentional weight loss, and other signs that your loved one is struggling on their own, which may indicate the need for nursing care.
• Caregiver availability: Evaluate whether any circumstances — such as careers, kids living at home, or family dynamics — make it not feasible to care for a loved one at home.
• Loved one’s thoughts: Facilitate open conversations with your loved one and other close family members to ensure everyone with a vested interest in the situation has a voice and to build a unified front of support.

Keep in mind that many people who move to a community say they wish they had done so sooner. Waiting until a health crisis forces a move can lead to more stress, while making this decision proactively can ensure a smoother, more positive transition.

Choosing a Community

Finding a community that aligns with your loved one’s values and preferences is essential. While factors such as location and amenities matter, clinical quality is a top priority. One of the most reliable ways to evaluate a community’s quality of care is through the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Five-Star Quality Rating System. We recommend visiting Medicare.gov/care-compare to view ratings for health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. Ratings are assessed quarterly, and communities awarded four or five stars provide excellent to exemplary care.

Ensuring a Smooth Transition

Family members can play an important role in helping their loved one adjust well and enjoy a successful start in long-term care. Consider these tips to support your loved one:

• Prepare emotionally: Acknowledge that feelings of hesitation or sadness are normal. Focus on the "why" behind your decision — such as increased safety, better nutrition, and more social connection — rather than the loss of the previous home.
• Pack strategically: Make sure your loved one can quickly access a few key personal items, such as a favorite quilt or framed photos, that will make their suite feel more familiar. Help your loved one use this as an occasion to rightsize by gifting, donating, or disposing of items they no longer need.
• Show grace: It’s perfectly normal for a resident to feel out of place for the first 30 to 60 days. Show grace for your loved one during this period, and try to visit as often as you can. You also can encourage them to become involved in social events, classes, and other positive experiences in their community.

WesleyLife is here to support you and your loved one at each step of the transition to long-term care and beyond.

Not sure whether it’s time to move to a community? Take the online assessment: Is it the right time for senior living?

If you’re ready to take the next step, request a tour of one of our communities or speak with our team to learn more.

Moving to long-term care doesn’t mean giving up; it means embracing the next chapter. We care deeply about your loved one’s well-being and are here to empower a joyful aging experience, complete with all the support they need to thrive.