Nursing Home vs. Home Health Care in Connecticut

Understanding that your loved one needs additional care is only the first step. Once you have this realization, you need to determine what the best care is. Can your loved one move in with you? Do you need to hire an aide to provide help? Or is a more serious and permanent solution necessary? These are some basic questions that your family will ask at this time. One of the most basic decisions to make is if your loved one will continue living at home or if they should live in a facility. So, you can use the tips on this page to make your decision.

Home Health Care

There are many pros and cons of using home health care for your loved one. Home health care is a good idea if:

• Your loved one is still fairly independent. Consider how much help your loved one needs. If they just need help with basic tasks, minor medical assistance, and someone to drive them places, home aide might work.
• Your loved one wants to keep living at home. As long as your loved one is capable of living at home and they want to do so, home care is a good option.
• Your family wants to save money. If you are paying for care out of pocket, a nursing home will likely be more expensive. This is because nursing homes provide more services than a home health aide does.
• Your loved one doesn’t have Medicare or Medicaid. Again, if paying out of pocket, you might be looking for a more affordable option. You might find this in a home health aide.
• Your loved one doesn’t need the services offered in a nursing home. Nursing homes offer great resources for residents. They get round the clock care, meals made for them, help taking medication and more. If your loved one doesn’t need these services, a nursing home isn’t the best option.

Nursing Home

If you find that your loved one needs more serious medical attention, a nursing home might be a better option than home care. Consider a nursing home if:

• Your loved one can no longer take care of themselves. If your loved one needs assistance with most tasks during the day, a home is a good option. They have multiple staff members available to help your loved one with anything that they need.
• Your loved one has a serious medical condition. If your loved one needs the help of a registered nurse or medical professional every day, a home is a good idea.
• Your loved one needs 24-hour care. Nursing homes have staff members on duty at all times. This means that you don’t have to worry about hiring multiple home health aides to help your loved one. The staff will be available whenever your loved one needs help.
• Your loved one has Medicare or Medicaid. Many nursing homes accept Medicare or Medicaid. This will make nursing home expenses much less demanding for your family.

Whichever option you choose, make sure to look out for abuse or neglect. You should communicate with your loved one about what they want and how their experience is. For more information on helping your loved one, visit the other pages in this section.