Assisted Living Facilities
Widely regarded for their broad ranges of amenities and services, assisted living facilities offer solutions for elder adults who can live independently but who require a certain amount of help.
Most assisted living facilities provide:
- Help with “ADLs” or Activities of Daily Living such as eating, personal hygiene, et cetera
- Meals, housekeeping and laundry services, transportation, in-room emergency call service, and regularly planned activities.
- On-staff licensed nurses, medication assistance, and 24-hour health monitoring.
Today’s assisted living facilities emerged in the mid 1990's as a new choice in the range of care for people (usually seniors) who can’t live on their own in a private residence, but who require less assistance than the 24-hour medical care typically found in a nursing home. More a philosophy of care than an actual category of care, assisted living essentially is a service that promotes independence and dignity. There are nearly 40,000 assisted living facilities to choose from in the United States. Among these there is a considerable variation in the level of care provided. Some communities specialize in providing a supportive and safe environment for seniors who are largely independent but need some minor, regular assistance with activities of daily living or medication management, as mentioned above. Other assisted living centers gauge their services toward the more frail elderly citizens who need higher levels of help. Those facilities have become a substitute for nursing homes and generally provide many—although not all—of the services found in a typical skilled nursing facility. There is no standard definition of Assisted Living, so it’s important to understand the type of environment that a given facility offers. You want your loved one to settle into an environment that’s a good match for his or her needs. Assisted Living facilities are regulated and licensed by individual states. |
