Assisted Living Vs. Nursing Home Care

by Sandy Keefe

Overview

Nursing homes offer skilled nursing care.

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A nursing home, more correctly known as a skilled nursing facility (SNF), provides 24-hour, seven-day a week skilled care to people with physical, cognitive or emotional issues who can no longer care for themselves. An assisted living facility (ALF) provides a lower level of 24-hour care.
Focus

ALFs offer a healthy social environment so people can live on their own as long as possible. SNFs are designed to deliver medical, nursing and therapy services to individuals with more complex diseases, disorders or conditions.

Features

Both SNFs and ALFs offer residents assistance with activities of daily living that might include personal care (bathing) and custodial care (monitoring for safety).
Benefits

SNFs add a layer of skilled nursing services that might include IV medications and fluids, dressing changes and even ventilator care.
Significance

SNFs are licensed to provide nursing care, but ALFs are not. Even if an ALF does have a nurse on staff, she cannot provide skilled nursing care such as insulin administration. She can, however, teach wellness classes or monitor vital signs.
Considerations

An ALF might be a great place for an older adult who needs a little extra help to get through the day, but a SNF is a better choice for one who is in failing health.