| Course | LSM 404 Introduction to Lifespan Management (LSM/404) |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Care settings comparison paper |
| Length | about 1,008 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Health Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for LSM 404 Week 2
Nine Places to Receive Care, One Family Deciding: Comparing Care Environments and Services From Home Care to Skilled Nursing for a Widower Whose Needs Keep Changing
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
LSM/404: Introduction to Lifespan Management
Week 2 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The widower, his family and the organization are composites written for a model paper; national figures and program descriptions come from the sources listed.
A composite 81-year-old widower fell in his kitchen in March. He was not badly hurt, but his daughter, who lives 40 minutes away, realized he had been skipping meals and missing medications. Over the next three years, as early dementia progressed, the family would consider almost every option in the long-term care field. This paper compares those care environments and services through his story.
The Size of the Field
The most recent national study of post-acute and long-term care counted about 68,150 providers that served roughly 7.3 million people in 2020, with residential care communities, including assisted living, making up about half of providers and nursing homes about a quarter. Adult day services centers, home health agencies and hospices made up the rest (Lendon et al., 2024). The oldest Americans, who use these services most, are the fastest-growing part of an older population that reached 57.8 million in 2022 (Administration for Community Living, 2024).
Home Care
Home care brings help into the person's home. Personal care aides help with bathing, dressing and meals; home health agencies provide skilled nursing and therapy after illness, often covered by Medicare for limited periods. The widower started with an aide four hours a day, three days a week, paid privately. It suited him because he wanted to stay in his house.
Adult Day Services
Adult day centers provide supervision, meals, activities and sometimes health services during the day, giving caregivers time to work or rest. When his memory worsened, the widower attended two days a week, and his daughter kept her job.
The All-Inclusive Care Program for the Elderly
This program, known as PACE, serves people 55 and older who qualify for nursing home care but can live safely at home with support. A team provides all medical and social services, often from an adult day health center, and the program is paid a monthly amount by Medicare and Medicaid. The family considered it, but the nearest program did not serve his zip code.
Independent Living
Independent living offers apartments with meals, housekeeping, transportation and social activities but no personal care. It suits people who want community and convenience. The widower's needs had already passed this stage, since he needed daily help he could not arrange himself.
Assisted Living
Assisted living provides housing, meals, personal care, medication help and 24-hour supervision for people who need help with daily activities but not continuous nursing. It is regulated by states and paid mostly privately, though some state Medicaid programs cover services. The widower moved to assisted living in year two.
Memory Care
Memory care units, often within assisted living, serve people with dementia in secured environments with specially trained staff and structured activities. When he began leaving the building at night, he moved to memory care.
Skilled Nursing
Skilled nursing facilities provide 24-hour licensed nursing, rehabilitation and long-term care. Medicare covers short rehabilitation stays after a qualifying hospital stay; long stays are paid by Medicaid or privately. After a hip fracture in year three, he spent 18 days in skilled rehabilitation. Each move the family made was a response to a specific need, not a step on a staircase everyone must climb.
Hospice
Hospice provides comfort-focused care for people with a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its usual course, wherever the person lives, including assisted living and memory care. It is covered by the Medicare hospice benefit. In his final months he received hospice care in memory care, avoiding another hospital move.
Life Plan Communities
Life plan communities, also called continuing care retirement communities, combine independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing on one campus, usually with an entry fee and monthly fees. Had he moved to one earlier, the transitions would have happened within one community.
The National Shift Toward Home and Community Services
Medicaid, which funds more long-term care than any other public program, has steadily moved its money toward home and community settings. A national analysis of Medicaid claims counted 7.8 million home and community-based services users and 1.5 million institutional users in Medicaid in 2022, with home and community-based services users and spending growing from the year before (Stepanczuk et al., 2024).
What the Family Learned About Cost
Cost shaped every decision. Four hours of home care three days a week cost the family about $1,500 a month. Assisted living cost about $5,400 a month, and memory care about $7,800, all paid from the widower's savings and the sale of his house. His Medicare coverage paid for the rehabilitation stay and hospice but none of the ongoing personal care. When his savings ran low in year three, the social worker helped the family apply for Medicaid, which in their state covered memory care services under a waiver but not room and board. Few families understand these limits until they face them.
Programs for Other Populations
The same organization runs supported living for adults with intellectual disabilities, day programs and job coaching, services often funded by Medicaid waivers. The principles are the same: match the setting to the person's needs and goals.
Questions Families Should Ask
What help does the person need now, and what might they need in a year? What services does the setting provide, and what does it not? What does it cost, and who pays? What happens if needs increase? How are staff trained, and how many are there at night? What do inspection reports show?
Conclusion
The widower's three years touched nearly every part of the long-term care field, from home care and adult day services to assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and hospice. Each setting serves different needs and is paid for differently, and national data show both the size of the field and its shift toward home and community services. The right setting depends on what the person needs and wants at each point, not on a fixed sequence.
References
Administration for Community Living. (2024). 2023 profile of older Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/Profile%20of%20OA/ACL_ProfileOlderAmericans2023_508.pdf
Lendon, J. P., Caffrey, C., Melekin, A., Singh, P., Lu, Z., & Sengupta, M. (2024). Overview of post-acute and long-term care providers and services users in the United States, 2020 (National Health Statistics Reports No. 208). National Center for Health Statistics. https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc/158328
Stepanczuk, C., Carpenter, A., Murray, C., & Wysocki, A. (2024). Medicaid long-term services and supports users and expenditures by service category, 2022. Mathematica. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/medicaid-long-term-services-and-supports-users-and-expenditures-by-service-category-2022
What the LSM 404 Week 2 instructions ask
LSM 404 Week 2 commonly asks students to explore the environments and services available for populations requiring care across the lifespan. Students may be asked to describe home and community-based services, residential settings such as assisted living and memory care, skilled nursing, hospice, adult day programs and specialized programs for people with disabilities, and to compare them by services offered, level of care, cost and payment source. Some versions ask students to recommend a setting for a case. Strong papers describe each setting accurately, use national data on how many people each serves, explain payment sources and match settings to needs rather than presenting a single ladder of care.
How this LSM 404 Week 2 example is built
The paper opens with the widower's first fall at home and his daughter's search for options. National survey data introduce the sectors. Each setting is then described by what it provides, who it suits, typical payment and where the widower might fit at a given stage: home care and adult day services when he first needs help, the all-inclusive program as an alternative to moving, independent and assisted living as options for more support, memory care when dementia progresses, skilled nursing after a hospitalization and hospice at the end. Medicaid spending data show the national move toward home and community services. The paper closes with a family checklist.
LSM 404 Week 2 grading rubric: where the points go
The care environments week is usually graded on accurate, well-organized descriptions and meaningful comparison. Instructors look for each major setting described by services, level of care, staffing and payment, current national data on the size of each sector, recognition of home and community-based options and the trend toward them and a thoughtful match between settings and needs. Applying the comparison to a person or case earns credit. Credible sources support the facts, ideally national surveys rather than provider marketing. The final points cover organization and APA formatting. Work that describes settings with outdated or unsourced figures, or that treat nursing homes as the default for everyone needing care, typically receive lower marks.
LSM 404 Week 2 help: mistakes to avoid
A frequent weakness in LSM 404 Week 2 is listing settings without comparing them. Use the same questions for each: what services, for whom, at what level of care, paid by whom. Another is overlooking home and community-based services, which now serve more Medicaid users than institutions. Students also confuse assisted living with skilled nursing; assisted living provides personal care and supervision, skilled nursing provides licensed nursing and rehabilitation. Explain payment sources, since Medicare covers little long-term care. Include hospice and programs for people with disabilities. Apply the settings to a case. Finally, cite current national data rather than figures from a decade ago, and say what year each figure describes.
Related LSM 404 sample papers
Other LSM 404 week samples
- LSM 404 Week 1: Populations and Terminology
- LSM 404 Week 3: Financial Management
- LSM 404 Week 4: Quality Management
- LSM 404 Week 5: Regulatory Requirements Overview
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LSM 404 Week 2 questions, answered
What does LSM/404 Week 2 usually ask for?
Many sections ask students to describe and compare care environments and services, such as home care, adult day services, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and hospice, for populations needing long-term care.
Where can I find a free LSM 404 Week 2 sample paper?
The nine-setting comparison paper is available above, free to read, with notes beside each setting. For your own case, we will write the first paper at no cost.
What is the difference between assisted living and a nursing home?
Assisted living offers housing, meals, personal care and supervision for people who need help with daily activities; a nursing home provides 24-hour licensed nursing care and rehabilitation for people with greater medical needs.
What is PACE?
PACE, the all-inclusive care program for older adults, provides comprehensive medical and social services, often centered on an adult day health center, to people 55 and older who qualify for nursing home care but can live safely in the community.
What is a life plan community?
Also called a continuing care retirement community, it offers independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing on one campus, usually under a contract with an entry fee and monthly fees.
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