What Is Assisted Living?

If an older loved one is beginning to need a bit of extra help to make daily life easier, you may be considering a senior living community. We understand that the details can be confusing, though.  

Senior living is actually made up of different types of care. The most common types are independent living, assisted living, and memory care. When you’re looking for a balance of independence and support for your loved one, assisted living is often ideal. What is assisted living exactly? Let’s find out.

What is assisted living?

Assisted living is a type of senior living that provides housing, personalized care, and support with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and medication assistance as needed. But don’t assume that means a hospital-like setting. Far from it!  

The goal in communities like ours is to provide just the right amount of support to empower your independence. However, beyond the support your loved one needs, you’ll find life in assisted living active, enriching, and fun, maybe even more so than at home.

What is the difference between assisted living and other types of senior living?

Assisted living is not for those with medical conditions that require round-the-clock care or specialized care, such as dementia. These distinctions make assisted living different from the other types of senior living mentioned above in that:

• Independent living typically does not offer daily support, although your loved one may opt to use third-party home health services for those needs.
• Memory care is exclusively for those living with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia.

The assisted living lifestyle

What is the assisted living lifestyle like? Assisted living communities like ours offer a range of services and amenities to not only make life more convenient for residents but also to ensure they are active, social, and engaged each day. For example, our assisted living community offers the following:

• A range of floor plans, including studio, one and two-bedroom apartment suites  
• 24-hour staffing and onsite health specialists  
• Onsite registered nursing team and regular health assessments
• Specialized care program and support with daily activities
• Medication management program
• Concierge services
• Restaurant-style dining  
• Weekly housekeeping and linen service
• Fitness center and exercise programs
• Library
• Full-service beauty salon and barbershop
• A variety of social opportunities, activities, and clubs
• Scheduled transportation
• Full maintenance

Assisted living and more

Now that we’ve answered, “What is assisted living?” you may decide your loved one is not yet ready for that type of care or wonder what happens if they need to move to a higher level of care at some point. Fortunately, many senior living communities, including ours, offer multiple levels of care on one campus. This gives residents invaluable peace of mind not only because they can remain in familiar surroundings but also because they maintain continuity in care.  

What’s more, we provide home care services that help keep you independent for as long as possible and award-winning rehabilitation services that include physical therapy, speech/language pathology, and occupational therapy, as well as specialized orthopedic care, cardiac care, and neuro-muscular care.