Differences between assisted living and nursing home

Assisted living and nursing homes might seem the same, but are not quite.

Nursing homes and assisted living are known for providing personal care for people. The main difference is that the nursing home adds medical care to the assisted living home's care, and its setting is quite different as it is a clinical setting for the users. It can be considered expensive to live under either assisted living or in a nursing home, but it is worthy to note that the cost of living in a nursing home can be up to three times higher than that of assisted living. "Everyone" is qualified to enroll in assisted living, but you have to be qualified for a nursing home to enroll. Eligibility requires certain conditions, including being unable to live by oneself, for example: a young person with a specific disability, a person in need of special care, and/or an older person. When taking one person to a nursing home, be honest with them on why they have to go to nursing homes and not assisted living installations, so that they will know what to expect and why are they going where they are going.

Assisted living

Assisted living is housing for people who are in dial need of personal care. The buildings are designed so that it has living spaces with room for individuals and in some cases shared rooms. It must have a setting that makes it feels like home for people in need of personal care. It must be designed in a way to make people independent. Assisted living happens in stages from residential living and ends at rehabilitation.

Nursing home

A nursing home is a setting for people who can't be at the hospital but need medical care. The staff in nursing homes, most especially the skilled nurses, provide medical care for people in nursing homes and must give occupational therapy. They must be able to have good communication with people to know when there is a problem. Nursing homes are primarily used in providing custodial care for older persons who can't go to the hospital.

	Assisted living	Nursing home
Service type	Housing for people who need some kind of special personal care.	Administration and management of medication, specifically for elders.
Non-care based service	Extensive recreational activities.	Limited recreation activities.
Number of residents	Average of 50 individuals.	Average of 100 individuals.
Costs	Of course it depends on the city and the installations, but in average it costs $4,000 USD per month	Approximately $7,441 USD per month, also depending on the installations and the city in which the nursing home is located.