Assisted Living vs. Personal Care: What’s the Difference?

There are events in family life that trigger kitchen table conversations about personal care homes and assisted living. For many, it’s the middle-of-the-night phone call we all dread; your loved one needs help. Perhaps they injured themselves getting out of bed, or they wake up confused and scared, not knowing where they are. The days and weeks that follow are a whirlwind of doctor’s appointments, follow-ups, and endless notes scribbled in the margins of notebooks and scrap pieces of paper. After realizing your loved one needs help, exploring the options for care can seem daunting and cause more questions; what’s the difference between assisted living vs. personal care? When should we make the move? Where do we start?

Together, let’s demystify this often-confusing part of senior living.

Assisted Living vs. Personal Care Explained

Many use the terms assisted living and personal care interchangeably, and on the surface, there is a lot in common between them. Both assisted living and personal care communities are residential settings for older adults who can no longer live safely on their own. They offer shelter, meals, and assistance with activities of daily living such as:

  • Personal grooming
  • Bathing
  • Dressing
  • Toileting
  • Medication management
  • Nutrition monitoring
  • Coordinating social and medical appointments

Additionally, both provide a community atmosphere and recreational activities to enjoy with friends and neighbors.

Assisted living and personal care communities can be thought of as a middle ground between living independently and skilled nursing for those with advanced medical conditions. In many ways, personal and assisted living communities allow a person to remain independent longer than if they remained at home. “We personalize each resident’s plan of care so they receive support in areas of need,” says Nathaniel Stube, Personal Care Administrator at Barclay Friends, “and encourage residents to stay independent in activities of daily living that they are able to accomplish on their own.”

Differences between Assisted Living and Personal Care

In 2007, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Senate Bill 704 and joined a handful of other states to recognize assisted living facilities as a separate and distinct level of care. Until 2011, all assistive living residences in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were licensed as personal care homes, though the terms assisted living and personal care were used synonymously.

Assisted living communities differ from personal care homes in three key areas:

  • Aging in Place: Assisted living facilities allow residents to “age in place,” meaning that they may stay in at an assisted living facility as their healthcare needs increase, rather than relocating to another facility.
  • Amenities: Assisted living residences are required to provide residents with a small kitchen.
  • Level of Care: Skilled nursing care is required to be provided to residents in assisted living communities.

As of this writing, most facilities in Pennsylvania, including Barclay Friends, are still licensed as personal care homes. Why? For most, it is prohibitively expensive to change licenses, and many communities would have to be physically expanded, requiring extensive construction that would disrupt the current residents.

However, all the private personal care apartments at Barclay Friends include a small kitchenette. Additionally, Barclay Friends offers skilled nursing on-site in our Cotter neighborhood and provides 24/7 nursing care to our residents in Preston personal care.

Click here to learn more about Personal Care at Barclay Friends.

What to Consider When Exploring Personal Care and Assisted Living Communities

Available Medical Care

Ask the personal care community what medical care is available on-site to residents. Barclay Friends has multiple primary care providers who see residents here in our community. Additionally, we offer the following services on-site:

  • Vision care
  • Dental care
  • Podiatry services

Residents are billed for these services through their health insurance, exactly as they would be if they were to see their providers in the office, and caregivers assist with scheduling.

Affiliations with Local Healthcare Organizations

Knowing what other medical services are available near the personal or assisted living community is important. For example, Barclay Friends has relationships with Chester County Hospital, Paoli Hospital, as well as Penn Hospice and Willow Tree Hospice and can work with each of these organizations to set up services for a resident.

Fees

In Pennsylvania, neither Medicare nor Medicaid cover personal care or assisted living. Residents pay out-of-pocket for the daily or monthly rate of their community. If you are unsure whether you or your loved one can afford their services, it is best to schedule a call with the community’s admissions manager; they can work with you to review your loved one’s financial picture and, if needed, refer you to other senior living services in the area. For example, each county in Pennsylvania has a department of aging which can help arrange in-home services for low-income seniors.

The Bottom Line

Both personal care homes like Barclay Friends and assisted living communities provide families with peace of mind. They know that if their loved one needs help at any hour of the day or night, someone is there on-site and just steps away, ready to render care. “Barclay Friends restores relationships by removing the caregiving component that many loved ones are tasked with as aging occurs,” says Stube. “Frequently, I have been told how great it is to be a spouse again and not worry because I know my spouse is being taken care of.”

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Our admissions team would be glad to discuss any questions you have about Personal Care.