Home / Compare care options
Compare care optionsOn-site care partner, outside agencies or your own staff?
Three ways residents of an independent living community get personal care, and what each one asks of the community.
What are the options when independent living residents start to need help?
There are three ways residents of an independent living community usually get personal care: an on-site care partner based in the building, outside home care agencies that each resident finds and hires, or caregivers the community employs itself. The fourth outcome is the one everyone wants to avoid: the resident moves out.
How do the three options compare?
| On-site care partner | Outside agencies | The community's own care staff | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who employs the caregivers | The care partner | Each agency a resident hires | The community |
| Who insures and supervises them | The care partner, with a supervisor in the building | Each agency, from its own office | The community |
| Cost to the community | None. The partner pays rent for its office | None | Payroll, insurance and management |
| Smallest amount of care a resident can buy | A short visit, or a monthly package | Usually a block of several hours | Set by the community |
| Who your executive director calls | One site supervisor | A different office for each agency | Your own manager |
| Record of each visit | With Balanced Home Care, a time-stamped scan at the resident's door | Varies by agency | Depends on your own systems |
| Resident choice of provider | Kept. Residents may choose any provider, or none | Kept | Residents may still hire outside help |
| Licensing | Housing and care stay with separate companies. Confirm with your counsel | Housing and care stay separate | In Michigan, a facility that provides room, board and supervised personal care is what the state licenses as a home for the aged. Ask your counsel first |
What is the difference between an on-site care partner and an outside agency?
An outside agency sends a caregiver from its office to one client, usually for a block of several hours. An on-site care partner keeps a team and a supervisor in your building, so residents can buy short visits, and your executive director has one person to call.
Should a community hire its own caregivers instead?
Some do. The community then carries the payroll, insurance, scheduling and supervision, and it should ask counsel about licensing before it starts, because in Michigan providing room, board and supervised personal care together is what the state licenses as a home for the aged. With an on-site partner, a separate company carries those responsibilities and residents hire it directly.
Which option keeps residents in the community longest?
A change in care needs is one of the most common reasons an independent living resident leaves. When help is down the hall and can be bought in small amounts, a change in needs becomes a change in services, and the resident stays home.
Related pages
The on-site model
How the first column works in practice.
Helping residents stay
Care needs and length of stay in independent living.
Questions and answers
Cost, staffing, resident choice and licensing.
Tell us about your community.
We will call you within one business day. Your first conversation is with our owner, Chris Warburton.