Nursing homes are very similar to assisted living centers, with some key differences. They can be considered a sub-type of assisted living or retirement home. A resident living at a nursing home can expect more supervision over medicine intake, more routine checkups, and depending on their level of autonomy and health, a lot more overall assistance with day to day life.
How does one choose if a regular assisted living center or a nursing home is a better fit for a loved one or oneself? The key aspect to consider is how capable of taking care of themselves the senior citizen is. If all that you’re looking for is help with cooking, house chores, and comprehensive but not continuous or strict medical attention, then an assisted living center might be the best bet. If, on the other hand, the prospective resident has more stringent care needs including help getting dressed, getting in and out of bed, bathroom assistance, and/or daily medical supervision, then you should look towards nursing homes. It is important to note that not all of these conditions need to necessarily be met in order for one to choose a nursing home over an assisted living center. As long as at least one of them is imperative, then the former may be the housing type of choice.
Nursing homes are less numerous than assisted living centers In the U.S. there are around 36,000 registered assisted living facilities, while there are only about 15,700 nursing homes. Because many of these facilities charge based on the level of care needed (once again, differently from Mexico), nursing homes in America tend to be far more expensive.
There are a few more differences between the two which can vary from facility to facility. Assisted living centers, for example, will often allow a resident to live by themselves or with a couple, and may even allow for one to have their own car. Assisted living centers focus on the social and emotional wellbeing of residents, and while nursing homes also do this, the main focus is on their physical health and upkeep.
The overall nature of nursing homes doesn’t change drastically in Mexico when compared with the U.S. There are some differentiating aspects that may be of interest when choosing a home for a loved one or oneself, however. Firstly there is, just like in general assisted living, a large difference in cost. Even at the highest quality nursing homes in Mexico one might still save $15,000 to $35,000 USD versus comparable facilities in America.
These facilities are often intended for Americans, and thus the staff is often fluent in English and trained to be ready for helping people transition into a new country. Another key difference in assisted living and nursing homes in Mexico is that no matter what the medical demands are, or how they change during the resident’s stay, monthly rates almost invariably stay the same. This is very different from the way pricing for nursing homes is managed in the U.S., where any additional service needed beyond the initial agreement usually gets billed as an extra.
Care homes in Mexico are regulated by the Federal Government through the Ministry Governments for issuing operating licenses in particular, because of this, each rest home determines its own security and service standards that must comply with federal and municipal regulations established by the laws of the government in Mexico.