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Intermediate Care
Sometimes referred to as “custodial care”,
intermediate care reflects the care given each day to help the resident with
“ADL’s” or activities of daily living. You
do ADL’s every day for yourself. You
brush your teeth, wash your face, shower or bathe, eat your meals, use the
toilet, and take your medications.
These are all functions that sometimes as we grow older we lose the
ability to perform for ourselves. When
someone else does them for us, they are providing intermediate care.
As of today, very few outside sources exist to pay for
intermediate care, with the exception of Medicaid. Intermediate care is provided in different setting
as well. Assisted
Living facilities, some retirement centers, and of course, nursing homes
all provide different levels of assistance.
Typically, a nursing home will be appropriate when the
resident in question has lost the ability to take their own medications or
recognize them. Mobility is an issue
regarding the safety of the resident and is generally a determining factor in
deciding placement. If the resident is
confused or combative, or needs extensive supervision with ADL’s, a nursing
home is proper placement.
In most of the United States nursing homes in general
will be older than the assisted living facilities. Don’t place your loved one based upon pretty tablecloths and nice
pictures on the wall. Yes, no matter
where you go should be clean and tidy, but don’t sacrifice care for window
dressing.
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