Essentially, Adult Care Homes (or Adult Family Homes) are family homes because a limited number of seniors live in a household with private (or semi-private) and a shared common area.
Think of the social setting as a college dormitory where you have a handful of people living under the same roof with shared amenities and space, but your own privacy.
However, let me stress to think of the social setting as a college dormitory and not the look and feel as dorms are hardly the golden standard for cleanliness and provided amenities.
Adult Family Home Real Estate
Everyone wants a house that’s good to go, but those who have purchased a home/condo before know that most are fixer-uppers. However, with Adult Family Homes, the house is usually good to go, but you need to redesign it anyway.
Adult Family Homes are retrofitted to be accessible for all seniors they provide care for. This means, grab bars installed in bathrooms, rooms designed to minimize falls, wheelchair accessible ramps for those that need it. Additionally, if the Home offers memory care, then they need to have locks in place to keep elders from wandering out of the house (or nurses on-duty at night).
And yet, even though these houses need to undergo severe changes, they’re not institutions; the government considers them homes, not businesses. And why shouldn’t they? They’re planted right in the middle of neighborhoods!
The people running these homes are registered nurses or gerontologists. To clarify, a registered nurse (RN) is not the same as a licensed practical nurse (LPN). RN’s require more schooling and can provide treatment plans, so your elder is in good hands. The owners provide customized care and treatment plans for the seniors. Which isn’t hard considering alternative housing options may have as many as 200 residents, but Adult Family Homes can only have 6 residents total!
Many families prefer this premise alone as it means their elder is known by name and it’d be nigh impossible to mix up their prescriptions – whereas in Assisted Livings the LPNs may handle 15,000 different pills a week.
So what else do you need to know?
Adult Care Home Vs. Adult Day Care
Some people get these two mixed up (especially if you’re researching online) since they are similar in name.
Adult Care/Family Homes are not Adult Day Cares. Adult Day Cares are part-time establishments that are often cheaper than hiring in-home care. Instead of bringing the care into your senior’s house, you drive your elder to the care center (before work, usually) and pick them up after.
Meanwhile Adult Care Homes are permanent residences for the elders. So if your senior needs care and they are no longer safe living in their own home, then this is a good route.
