Written by: patrick on July 20, 2010 @ 11:20 pm
We have spent a good amount of time discussing assisted living Board & Care homes. While we are not done with that discussion, I thought it would be nice if we looked into the larger assisted living communities. These assisted living communities are designed, for the most part, for seniors who are alert and still at least partially independent.
Assisted Living Communities are what most people envision when thinking of retirement communities. These communities are for seniors that are still partially independent and although they can be licensed for any number the averages are between 50 and 300. They are usually not licensed for people with diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia as they simply do not have the supervisory structure necessary for these residents and equally important, they are not “secure facilities”.
The average age of seniors who move to these communities is 80 and just about 50% of them are still independent and could stay at home. Their reasons for moving are usually because they are tired or cooking and cleaning and want a safety net of services available for when they may need it. The resident generally chooses his or her medical doctor and dental services and can actually receive help making and maintaining doctor appointments. Transportation to these appointments is also provided. Mail is delivered to the community for each resident just like at an apartment. Residents can even have computers with internet and many maintain a vehicle.
Think of these facilities as apartment communities. They are usually fairly large with multiple sizes of apartments. More recently built facilities are designed with an emphasis on ease of use by disabled people. Bathrooms and kitchens are designed with wheelchairs and walkers in mind. Hallways and doors are extra-wide to accommodate wheelchairs. These facilities are by necessity fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) or similar legislation elsewhere. These are actual apartments and the residents get keys to their apartments. They, in the vast majority of cases, bring their own furniture. Most all of these facilities serve breakfast, lunch and dinner in a communal dining room.
An easy way to understanding how these communities work is to understand how they charge residents. The base fee is determined by the size and location of the apartment and the number of occupants. That fee covers the rent of the apartment, all three meals per day for all occupants, housekeeping once per week, linen laundry (and sometimes personal), reasonable transportation, all utilities except for the phone and lots of scheduled group activities.
So what does our base fee not include? We spent so much time talking about the activities of daily living that I am sure you have spotted it. It doesn’t include traditional care giving services! This is why many of these types of assisted living communities advertise themselves as “independent and assisted living”. If you go to one of these communities and just pay the base fee you are really must be independent because you are going to be alone, on your own, in a real apartment as long as you stay in there.
Also included in the base fee is a safety monitoring system that is really wonderful. 24 hour dedicated and trained staff members are looking out for all residents’ best interests. If, for example, a resident does not come down for a meal, the staff will realize this and call the apartment. If no answer, staff will go to the apartment and inquire. There is multiple staff on duty 24 hours per day. If a resident needs assistance of any kind, they can call to the staff office and receive quick attention. For some senior and families this will provide great comfort. Unfortunately, it is the rare person that has not heard or known a senior who has fallen and was down for an extended period of time. There is no way to ever completely remove the fall risk for seniors, but we can minimize it and assisted living can help with faster response time in case of emergency.
The socialization aspects of ALFs are very beneficial to the occupants. Normally the facility has many activities scheduled for the occupants, keeping in mind different disabilities and needs. These activities are usually covered in the base fee and they can really offer an opportunity for fun, education and fellowship. So many seniors slowly isolate themselves as they begin to face difficulty with ADLs. These convenient enjoyable activities can really add to quality of life. We have seen poker tournaments, trips to casinos, walking clubs, art classes, bowling leagues, computer classes etc. Assisted living activities are one of the main benefits of community living.
Tags: Activities of Daily Living, Assisted Living, Assisted Living Costs, assisted living placement, assisted living services, dementia care, Senior Citizens
Catogories: Assisted Living Information, Senior Citizen Needs, assisted living education
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