Long-term care is often perceived as intiutionalized care at a nursing home. Some people see it as an end-of-life decision to move into a nursing home. The reality is that long-term care may be also provided at home.
"Long term care is the opposite of acute care," says KaraLe Causey, owner of Haven Nursing Center. Causey dispelled some of the common myths associated with long term care, explaining that "acute care usually is episodic" and may not require "continuing care."
"Long-term care can be provided in all of different types of settings," says Causey, and includes home health, nursing home, assisted living, and personal attending care.
The advantages of long term care in a nursing home is that 24/7 around-the-clock care is available. Nursing home care becomes the most logical choice when there is no one to take care of a person's health care needs at home or the available supportive services are not adequate.
At different phases in our lives, we move to different settings; such as moving to a dorm while at college, moving into an apartment or a house on getting a job, then moving to a bigger house, and so on. Causey sums up that "A nursing home is not the end of the road. Its just a different place to live and receive care at the same time." Additionally, people feel less isolated when they move into a nursing home and can make new friends and find new relationships.
