| In comparison with larger assisted living complexes, there are distinguishing benefits for smaller 2-6 bed facilities. These smaller facilities are Board and Care facilities, also called Residential care homes. The comparisons look at issues such as logistical operation of business in elder care, staff policies, personal attention given to resident, and cost.
Like any larger assisted living facilities, residential care homes are subjected to state licensing laws, and are held to recognized standards of care because of the government's regulation.
Residential care homes can also provide a continuous monitoring of health conditions such as hospice, bedridden, dementia, post-stroke condition, or those with related memory problem.
In residential care home, residents see the caregiver when they wake up, and the caregivers are the last ones whom the residents see before sleeping. This creates a family atmosphere and provides sense of security for the residents. At The Lovettsville Home, we create a more intimate nurturing setting that resident feel more personal.
The larger the facility, the case is less personalized and less suited for the dementia resident. With the hotel-style living, the resident's awareness level needs to be high in order to remember the floor, the wing, and his or her room number. Larger facilities require seniors to be capable of getting to the dining hall for meals, and be independent in most activities.
Residential care homes often provide more services for residents. At
The Lovettsville Home, we assist with dressing, bathing, showering,
toileting, transferring, walking, and getting around. Ratio of caregivers to resident is much higher than larger assisted living or nursing homes.At the Lovettsville Home this ratio of staff to residents is 1/3.
| | Depending on the location of the facility, the size of the living space, the amount of privacy, and the amenities provided, larger facility cost average much higher than small residential assisted living facilities.
Moving to a smaller residential care home eases this transition. At The Lovettsville Home, we try to keep 6-7 residents who live not as neighbors but as family members. This advantage is taken from the feeling of living in a home rather than in a hotel-style facility. The home-like environment with bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room that is similar to their own home makes it a lot easier to continue their daily function as they would have stay in their own home. At our home, we even evaluate the emotional symptom and provide psychological counseling to resident and their family during this beginning phase of their resettlement by their physician.
Some people eat to live. Others live to eat. Those in the first group regard food as fuel; those in the second group know better than that. Good food has always offered people much more than just calories, fat, carbohydrates, and protein. At it's best, food nourishes us -- body and soul. At The Lovettesville Home, we serve 3 delicious, home-made, and nutritious meals every day.
Reacting to case reports of actual starvation among nursing home residents, the government has established significant penalties for facilities that allow residents to lose weight "unexpectedly". As a result, nursing homes struggle constantly to increase the dietary intake of their residents and they also do not enough caregivers to feeding residents who needs to feed.
We strongly believe our small facility is the best option for people who are looking for very personal care, personal attention and quality care at a family-style setting.
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