Choosing the Correct Facility

Having decided to move into an aged care facility, you will need to investigate which home best meets your needs (or the needs of the elderly relative in your care). Finding the right one can take time. There are various types of retirement homes or aged care facilities with different criteria for meeting the needs of elderly people in different ways. This is how they are generally defined within Australia (although there may be some slight variation from state to state/territory):

High-level care
High-level care is for people who need 24-hour nursing care. This would include those whose movement is impaired through a physical disability, or those suffering a severe dementia-type illness or other behavioral problems. Additional care and services for residents in high care normally involves no additional costs.

Low-level care
Low-level care facilities are for people who need some help, and usually, people in low-level care can walk or move about on their own.

Low-level care focuses on personal care services (help with dressing, eating, bathing etc.), accommodation, support services (cleaning, laundry and meals) and some allied health services such as physiotherapy. Nursing care can be given when required.

Most low-level aged care homes have nurses on staff, or at least have easy access to them.
Aging in place
Aging in place refers to aged care homes that offer both high- and low-level care, and to situations where it is possible to stay in the same home if your care needs increase.
Palliative care
Palliative care is care provided for people who have a life threatening illness, with little or no prospect of a cure, and for whom the primary treatment goal is quality of life. Palliative care in aged care homes aims to give the resident the best possible quality of life, reducing the need to move residents to another location such as a hospital or hospice.