What is a Board and Care Facility?

As our loved ones age, the type of care they require may also grow different. You may even require the help of a board and care service.

While you may have been able to care adequately for your older relatives previously even while holding a full-time job, that may no longer be the case if they need to be cared for and supervised 24 hours a day.

It’s not an easy decision by any means, but there will eventually come a point when you have to consider enlisting the help of long-term care services.

But which type of long-term care facility should you seek out for your loved one? There are different options for you to consider here and among them are the aforementioned board and care facilities.

What Is a Board and Care Facility?

Because they fulfill many of the same vital functions, it can be easy to confuse one type of long-term care facility with another. The same can be said for board and care facilities.

To help clear things up, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) provides a clear definition of what board and care homes are supposed to be. According to the NIA, board and care facilities are characterized by their size.

More specifically, board and care homes are only designed to accommodate around 20 residents or fewer.

Depending on the specific facility, the people accommodated at board and care homes may have rooms to themselves or share them with others. That’s part of the reason why these facilities are also sometimes referred to as group homes.

Other names for board and care facilities include residential care facilities and small private facilities.

When you check a relative of yours into this kind of facility, you can count on them receiving plenty of care and attention from the professionals working there. Care is provided throughout the day and that includes the provision of meals.

One important thing to note about these facilities is that they usually do not serve as the venue for medical care. The people living at board and care homes will be taken to a different facility if they are in need of medical attention.

Why You Should Consider a Board and Care Home for Your Loved One

Hearing that medical care is not provided on site at board and care homes may give some people a reason to pause. It’s easy to think that not having that kind of care available on site could be bad news for the residents.

However, that should not be the reason why you hold off on selecting a board and care facility for your relative because there are workers who are constantly monitoring the residents, they will not be left unsupervised for any stretch of time.

We don’t just want to ease your concerns regarding board and care facilities, we also want to help you clearly see why they can be the right option for your family member.

The characteristic that really works to set board and care facilities apart from the other options that you can take up is that they are able to focus more on their residents. The workers can devote more of their time and energy to a specific resident to ensure that they are receiving the amount of care they need.

That quality is also the reason why many families opt to move their relatives to these facilities as they get older.

Another advantage that comes with having your elder relative take up residence in a board and care facility is that they are able to stay in a more comfortable space.

When the idea of moving to a long-term care facility is presented to a relative, it is not unusual for them to react poorly to it. After all, the prospect of moving somewhere that is not their home can be scary. The idea of living full-time in a care facility may also not be appealing to them.

If your family members harbor those concerns, you can reassure them that board and care homes go above and beyond to provide more accommodating environments for their residents. The designers of these facilities often make it a point to recreate home environments because they understand how important that it is to their residents.

Although they are designed to look and feel like homes, these facilities do feature additional elements that make them more capable of supporting their elderly residents. They essentially bring the best of both worlds together.

How Does Bethany Homes Separate Itself from the Other Operators of Board and Care Facilities?

Hopefully, you now have a clearer idea of the many benefits that come with partnering up with a board and care facility.

The question now is: Which facility is going to be best for your loved one?

Bethany Homes deserves your consideration.

First off, you can expect the caregivers at Bethany Homes to do all they can for the residents. They do more than just closely monitor and care for your loved ones.

They will also craft customized care plans for their residents. After getting the chance to spend time with your relatives, the caregivers can make adjustments to their approach if needed. As a result, the residents of the Bethany Homes’ board and care facilities can feel more at ease.

Elements of the individualized care plans provided to the residents of Bethany Homes include hygiene, bathing, and dressing assistance, continence management, and in-house hair and nail services. There are other elements of the customized care plans that you can inquire about to see if all the needs of your relative can be met.

Bethany Homes also maintains a high staff-to-resident ratio. This is done to ensure that everyone at the facility will be able to receive the exact type of care they expect and need.

Get in Touch with Bethany Homes

We at Bethany Homes strive to provide the most comfortable and secure facilities for our residents and that holds true for our board and care facilities. If you are strongly considering admitting your elderly relative into that type of facility, know that we are always ready to serve.

Contact us now to learn more about how we can improve the lives of your loved ones.