Is An Assisted Living Facility Or Nursing Home Best For Your Loved One?

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Do you have a loved one that is having a difficult time living at home on their own, and you are looking for professional care for them full time? If so, you may be wondering if an assisted living facility or nursing home is best for them. Here is what you need to know about the differences between them. 

Nursing Home

What makes a nursing home unique is that they have a combination of skilled and unskilled care. The vast majority of the patients live at the nursing home full time, which helps them with various types of unskilled care during the day. There are also patients that go to a nursing home for short-term care, such as rehabilitating from an injury or surgery, and will eventually be sent home.

A nursing home does the job of managing the medications for its patients, and it is very rare to see someone living in a nursing home to manage their own medications. There are doctors on site that can provide primary care as well. There are even specialists on staff that handle things like dietary needs, physical therapy, speech therapy, wound care, and things of that nature. 

Assisted Living Facility

An assisted living facility provides room and board for its residents, as well as recreational activities. How much care is supplied to a resident really depends on a person's individual needs. It's important to select an assisted living facility that can accommodate your loved one's specific needs with the staff that they have on-site.

With that in mind, assisted living facilities will generally have fewer staff when compared to nursing homes. This is because the residents do not need the same type of full-time care. There is even flexibility with how much management is done with medications, with some residents being independent with managing their medications.

Assisted living facilities may have primary care doctors on site, or the residents may travel into the local community to visit the doctor of their choice. This is often the case when someone wants to keep their current doctor and is capable of managing their appointments on their own. 

Many people use an assisted living facility because they like that there are frequent checks on their residents. This can give you peace of mind that a loved one is being checked in on while you are not there, and that they are in good hands. 


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