Family Homes are Unique
Did you know that there is
a little assisted living secret the big, corporately managed assisted living
homes, with abundant advertising resources, prefer you not become aware of?
It is the adult foster care (AFC) Family Home. An AFC
Family Home is a state-licensed private residence. It enables a couple
to provide assisted living to six or fewer retirees who require help with
daily activities but are not bedridden. Licensees of such a home, along
with their residents, enjoy the greatest personal freedom and independence
in both concept and operation of their shared household; everyone may
exercise their full level of independence more than elsewhere. Most people
do not like crowds; studies show that occupants of smaller assisted living
facilities tend to be happier than residents in larger homes are. In
addition, a Family Home, besides providing one caregiver for every
2-3 residents, is often less than half the expense of larger AFC Group
Homes and one-third the cost of a nursing home.
There is a host of other
reasons for taking a closer look at the Family Home.
Legal Rights
Adult Foster Care (AFC)
is state licensed and inspected assisted living guaranteeing residents and
their families certain standards of care and caregivers, providing them
immediate access to the proper officials for addressing complaints, seeking
information, or making comments. Assisted living homes that lack an AFC
license do not enjoy these sanctioned benefits; here residents and families
must turn to Adult Protective Services to initiate any inquiry. Go
to: http://www.michigan.gov/dhs, click on Adult Foster Care/Homes for the
Aged Facilities (under “Online Lookups”) for a complete list of AFC
Family Homes in your area.
Services
Bigger assisted living
homes advertise with big service. Often, many of these cost extra and add
quickly to the expense of care. The AFC Family Home, though
small and personal, is just as big with service – but all included in one
simple monthly fee. Room and board, house soaps, common shampoos, basic
supplies, utilities and cable television are included. Laundry, ironing and
housekeeping are also furnished. Moreover, it goes without saying, there is
around-the-clock presence, assistance with daily routines and,
transportation to and from appointments. An AFC Family Home
also dispenses and supervises a resident’s medication; something prohibited
to unlicensed homes. Expect, too, that a Family Home solicits the
help and expertise from other licensed and recognized services like
pharmacists, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, church pastors and
volunteers, community organizations, pharmaceutical and medical equipment
deliveries and, beauticians. Lastly, a Family Home, also, can
arrange the “continuum of care” so important to today’s seniors and their
families.
Participation
Large assisted living
homes often employ activity directors to entertain their residents. But why
is this so necessary? Perhaps because residents of large homes live so far
removed from fundamental domestic activities, it creates a sensory void that
begs replenishment. In contrast, occupants of a Family Home
experience life up close. Whether it is cleaning, cooking, baking, laundry,
garden, yard work, or recreational games, life is out in the open and
available to commensurate participation or vigorous observation. Also, the
AFC Family Home homeowners’ interests and hobbies, mingled with those
of the residents, become the authentic vital mix of a particular home’s
environment. Hence, the specific role that organized entertainment fulfills
in large facilities is unnecessary in Family Homes.
Incentive of Ownership
Owners of their own small
AFC Family Home have naturally more incentive for its success
than hired managers or employees of bigger assisted living facilities. This
translates into meaningful advantages for a Family Home’s residents
and their respective families. Here, for example, are just a few:
Proprietors of a close-knit Family Home are only as “well-off” as
their residents’ “well-being” – they must be active advocates for each and
every household member. Also, there is not the high turnover rate from
poorly paid employees or concern about employees’ possible criminal
backgrounds associated with large institutions. Additionally, the
caregivers’ vital interest for what occurs within their own private walls is
an important shield against those bent on exploiting a senior financially,
emotionally, or physically through scams or other forms of abuse.
Advocacy
With one caregiver for
just every 2-3 residents, an AFC Family Home is unsurpassed in
advocacy for its seniors. No other form of assisted living – licensed or
unlicensed – can represent and protect its clients as thoroughly and
intensely. Whether as patients at doctors and hospitals, as active members
of the community in need of a haircut or desiring to exercise their right to
vote, or even as possible victims of exploitation needing protection,
residents of a Family Home experience the time and attention from
their caregivers that befit their needs.
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