Respect your elders: home health care and assisted living.

• Author: Sommer, Susan
• Position: HEALTH & MEDICINE

My dad, an eighty-something retired big game guide who still flies his Super Cub back and forth each summer to the family's commercial fish camp, and who came to Alaska before statehood, is happiest when he's in the woods. He has always said that when he gets too feeble to live on his own, just send him out to the cabin and let nature take its course. Though we understand the sentiment, we of course won't toss him to the wolves--but we will do what all good children do and find him the help he needs.

Alaska's elder care services and assistance for those with disabilities are, like most things anymore, on par with services across the country and available even in rural areas. And with the state's senior population growing, these services will only become more prominent.

What is Home Health Care and Assisted Living?

Senior apartments, adult daycare, nursing home, respite care--the plethora of terms within the home health care and assisted living spectrum can be overwhelming. Whether you're seeking care for a senior or loved one with disabilities or you're a service provider in need of information, a good place to start is with Senior and Disabilities Services (DHSS), a division of the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Experts there can help with everything from finding a provider to licensing and regulations to aging and disability resource centers around the state.

DHSS describes an assisted living home as "a residence for people who need help with the activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, housekeeping, shopping, money management and the scheduling of appointments. Some assisted living homes provide transportation and/or escorts to appointments or community events.

Some homes may also provide limited health-related services such as assisting residents with taking medication." Confusion can arise, however, because some facilities provide a wide range of services, from basic help to high-level nursing care. For example, state-run Pioneer Home locations offer private rooms for relatively independent individuals as well as full care for people with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia.

Home health care, on the other hand, focuses on providing health and some medical services in a person's home.

Since services run the gamut, home health care and assisted living are typically talked about as one industry that provides a continuum of services rather than being separate industries.

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