Many times families believe that the care that their loved one needs exceeds what an assisted living can do. Therefore they need to be in a nursing home. We, as care providers, like to throw around acronym and term such as “ADL” or Activities of Daily Living when discussing what care we are allowed to assist with.
So what are “Activities of Daily Living” and what exactly is it that we as an assisted living are allowed to do.
Activities of Daily Living, commonly refers to ADLs, include all day to day care including bathing, toileting, getting dressed, personal hygiene care, laundry and house keeping. It is important to ask each facility how in depth they can go with each of the above task. Inquire also if there are additional costs when one has to go from one level of care to the next. For instance, one may need simple toilet reminders. Or they can be further advanced in their dementia journey and may need full assistance with incontinence and managing their adult briefs and toileting schedule.
Bathing is also a task that can have varying levels.
Does a resident need a reminder, stand by assist or full assistance when it comes to taking a shower? Dressing, too, can be broken down into stages. Is it simply doing laundry for the resident to insure they have clean clothes. Or is it laying out appropriate clothing, or does the care staff need to fully assist with dressing and undressing. Most of these tasks even at the advanced level are still able to be managed within an Assisted Living setting and do not require skilled nursing homes.
So when is a skilled nursing home needed?
Skilled nursing is needed when one needs constant skilled interventions like feeding tubes, colostomy’s bags, and injections. Skilled nursing can also be needed when a resident is no longer able to bare weight. Providing skilled intervention for individuals who are wheelchair-bound or bed-bound, yet not at the end of life, is essential. Most Assisted Living homes are not allowed to use Hoyer lifts and therefor cannot accommodate someone with such needs. More info can be found here: https://www.alz.org/
Assisted Living on Broadway is able to assist residents with various degrees of ADLs. Ranging from reminders to full assist, we meet our resident at whatever step of the journey they are at and help them navigate it with patience and respect. We pride ourselves in excellent care and always prioritizing the needs of our residents above all else.