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Nursing Home

The home may be the care environment that seniors prefer the most during the pandemic, but there have been major barriers to home care for many people. A nursing home can still separate itself from residential care with the high acuity care it can offer. Some people indicate that they prefer the services of long-term care (LTC) facilities, but others prefer at-home care.

There are some common themes around why some prefer their relatives to be looked after at LTC locations, including the following, as per a Transcend Strategy Group survey.

• The greater possible attention for them around the clock
• The capability to respond fast to a situation with every essential resource and expertise at hand

Around 40% of respondents in the survey regarded the availability of trained and professional staffers as a big factor, besides access to equipment or staff. However, there is still some pandemic hesitancy among customers, particularly as it concerns relatives getting healthcare services.

The survey asked its participants whether the coronavirus epidemic would cause them to be hesitant about helping relatives find care from different settings. In response, 75% of survey respondents stated that they would have hesitance regarding skilled nursing facility care, versus only about 20% for residential care.

Concern about residential care came down considerably this year compared to 2020 poll numbers. On the other hand, there was little change in SNF care concerns as epidemic-related fears seem to be more for in-person care.

The vaccination rates of SNF staffers have increased over the last few months. That said, skilled nursing facilities are perhaps not out of difficulty with their epidemic responses as a new coronavirus strain is emerging in the US and elsewhere.

Still, there are medical and monetary barriers to realizing at-home care for several older adults, as per the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy.

Almost every older adult finds it important to remain at home for the maximum time. However, as per a recent University of Michigan report, numerous older adults still are unprepared to deal with the idea of aging in place.

From January to February 2022, the National Poll on Healthy Aging of the university sought the views of some adults about that idea. Around 90% of those respondents, aged from 50 to 80 years, stated that it was somewhat or extremely important for them to live at home for the maximum time. Just 47% of those respondents stated that they did not think much about how to modify their homes when they age, whereas 15% have considered it a lot.