What is restorative care, and how is that different from assisted living services?

Today, when retirees decide they no longer want the responsibility of maintaining a home, they have several options as they consider their next move. For example, while some seniors choose to reside in an independent living community, others realize their need for personal care services to supplement their measure of independence.

With both lifestyles—independent living and personal care—health care situations may arise that necessitate an adjustment to seniors’ living status while their health improves. That’s when restorative care, like that offered by Ecumenical Retirement Community in Harrisburg, PA, plays an instrumental role for a retirement home resident.

The purpose of Ecumenical’s restorative care program is to renew residents’ well-being after hospitalization, surgery or short-term rehabilitation or to manage a chronic condition. The program is goal-focused and action-oriented. A specially-trained health care team works with residents within their homes to create personal, restorative plans with goals, and to achieve them.

In contrast to some care settings in some senior living communities that can create a culture of physical dependency, Ecumenical’s restorative care program is based on residents’ direct involvement in their care.

Assisted living—with similarities to personal care—may also manage residents’ health care needs within their homes. It focuses less, however, on individual, specific needs with restoration to health as a goal. Eventually, a resident may require the type of care provided by a retirement nursing home while remaining in the assisted living setting.

With Ecumenical’s restorative care program, the residents’ goals and aspirations for a better quality of life form the foundation of their plan. Our restorative care team, committed to empowering the residents to their highest abilities, personalizes the plan with steps to achieve their goals.

Restorative care benefits seniors who want to live independently, healthily and safely because it can help them increase strength, reduce disability and reduce their risk of falling. It may even provide them with a more positive outlook and improve their mental well-being.

We invite you to contact us to learn more about our restorative care program and to tour our senior living community.