What is Assisted Living?

Around 25 years ago, Assisted Living was a relatively new concept, but today it is the fastest growing long-term care option for elders. The facilities provide a wide range of services and give a housing solution for adults who are able to live independently, but who might need a bit of help. For a lot of older people, assisted living gives them just enough level of care to be able to grow and succeed in their new phase of life. These years should be enjoyable, and assisted living offers more options now than ever before.

Costs

The costs for an assisted living facility vary, and are dependent on the following factors:

• Type of residence
• Size of apartment (studio, one or two-bedroom apartment)
• Types of services required
• Geographical location of the community

A lot of these communities will charge a basic rate that covers all services, with an extra fee for special services. Many facilities charge on monthly basis, but there are also long-term options available to you or your loved one as well.

Normally, base rates only cover room and board and a service of daily meals, as determined by the assisted living community. At times there may be entrance fees, deposits, laundry and housekeeping fees also. However, because the services vary by community, you should ask each about their individual costs and services available.

As reported by Genworth.com, the average cost for a one-bedroom assisted living apartment in the U.S. in 2014 was $3,500 a month; going up 1.19% from 2013 with a five-year annual growth of 5.71%. Studio and two-bedroom apartments varied according to this as well.

Services Offered in Assisted Living

Each community varies, so if you’ve seen one assisted living community, you’ve just seen one; you haven’t seen them all. Each state and province has different licensing and regulation requirements for assisted living providers, which will affect the types of services that are offered by a particular community. For example, some of these facilities are either attached to, or share a campus with, a skilled nursing facility. This means that these kinds of communities can provide more advanced medical care. Although, assisted living communities normally provide basic medical monitoring as well as other daily activities and care. These activities of daily living (or ADLs) include dressing, eating, mobility, hygiene, bathing, toileting, and using the telephone and shopping.

Some more basic services that are normally offered by assisted living facilities include:

• 24-hour supervision and security
• Daily meals
• Basic housekeeping
• Laundry
• Health and exercise programs
• Social programs
• Transportation, and
• Access to medical services

So as you can see, assisted living provides a wealth of options for seniors who need a bit of help, but who still wish to remain independent and live as healthy and actively as possible. Again, keep in mind that services and costs will vary from facility to facility, so be sure and ask your questions during each visit you make.