Maggie's Farm

For many people, it's a progression. For some, the progression is swifter then you might suspect. The steps are:

Living at home
Living at home, with help
Independent living (apartment setting)
Assisted Living
Memory Care (dementia & Alzheimers)
Hospice

My mom went from living at home directly to Assisted Living after the 'having help' phase didn't work out. Thanks to the support of family, esp. my sister, she was in A.L. for a few years before going into hospice with rapidly progressing dementia.

You'll find that Adult Protective Services, which is often run out of the DA's office, can be helpful at helping persuasion efforts. I found that they don't really want to get involved, but will sometimes try to help families by offering their 'official' authority to help move a decision, help to get a stubborn person into a more structured and supportive environment and out of danger.

These choices are best made by families, and the worst outcome is when the state gets involved. Make sure you have done your homework and set up the legal instruments - medical powers of attorney, trusts, DNRs etc.

Hospice doesn't often last very long.

And finally, I'll say that having been through about a half-dozen years of this, through COVID and all - I don't want to follow this route myself.