Friday, May 31, 2013

What is Assisted Living ?

Assisted living residences or assisted living facilities (ALFs) are housing facilities for people with disabilities. These facilities provide supervision or assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs); coordination of services by outside health care providers; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being.

Assistance may include the administration or supervision of medication, or personal care services provided by a trained staff person.

Assisted living as it exists today emerged in the 1990s as an elder care alternative on the continuum of care for people, for whom independent living is not appropriate but who do not need the 24-hour medical care provided by a nursing home and are too young to live in a retirement home. Assisted living is a philosophy of care and services promoting independence and dignity.

Assisted living in the United States

Within the United States assisted living spectrum, there is no nationally recognized definition of assisted living. Assisted living facilities are regulated and licensed at the US state level. More than two-thirds of the states use the licensure term "assisted living." Other licensure terms used for this philosophy of care include residential care home, assisted care living facilities, and personal care homes. Each state licensing agency has its own definition of the term it uses to describe assisted living. Because the term assisted living has not been defined in some states it is often a marketing term used by a variety of senior living communities, licensed or unlicensed. Assisted Living facilities in the United States had a National Median Monthly Rate of $3261.00 in 2011, a 2.39% increase over 2010 and a 5.99% increase over a six-year period from 2005-2011.

Types of Assisted Living

As widely varied as the state licensing and definitions are, so are the types of physical layouts of buildings that provide assisted living services. Assisted living facilities can range in size from a small residential house for one resident up to very large facilities providing services to hundreds of residents. Assisted living falls somewhere between an independent living community and a skilled nursing facility in terms of the level of care provided. Continuing care retirement facilities combine independent living, assisted living, and nursing care in one facility.

People who live in newer assisted living facilities usually have their own private apartment. There is usually no special medical monitoring equipment that one would find in a nursing home, and their nursing staff may not be available at all hours. However, trained staff are usually on-site around the clock to provide other needed services. Household chores are performed: sheets are changed, laundry is done, and food is cooked and served as part of the base rent and included services. Depending on their disclosure of services, assisted living services may include medication management, bathing assistance, dressing, escorts to meals and activities, toileting, transferring, and insulin injections by an RN. Some homes even have a beauty parlor on site. Grocery service is often available too. Where provided, private apartments generally are self-contained; i.e., they have their own bedroom and bathroom, and may have a separate living area or small kitchen. Registered nurses and license practical nurses are available by phone or e-mail 24 hours out of the day, to ensure proper teaching and/or education of staff available.

Alternatively, individual living spaces may resemble a dormitory or hotel room consisting of a private or semi-private sleeping area and a shared bathroom. There are usually common areas for socializing, as well as a central kitchen and dining room for preparing and eating meals.

Typical resident

An assisted living resident is defined as a resident who needs assistance with at least one of the activities of daily living.

A typical assisted living facility resident would usually be a senior citizen who does not need the level of care offered by a nursing home but prefers more companionship and needs some assistance in day-to-day living. Age groups will vary with every facility. There is currently a transformation occurring in long-term care. Assisted living communities are accepting higher and higher levels of care and nursing homes are becoming a place for those undergoing rehabilitation after a hospital stay or are individuals who need extensive assistance. Many assisted living communities now accept individuals who need assistance with all activities of daily living.

The Assisted Living Federation of America reports that the average age of assisted living residents is 86.9 years (female average age, 87.3; male average age, 85.7). Female residents (73.6%) outnumber male residents by almost 3 to 1. The majority (76.6%) of assisted living residents are widowed, and just over 12% are still married or have a significant other. The average length of stay for assisted living residents is 28.3 months (the median is 21.0 months).

Special needs

The residence may assist in arranging the appropriate medical, health, and dental care services for each resident. The resident generally chooses his or her medical doctor and dental services.
Residents who have periods of temporary incapacity due to illness, injury, or recuperation from surgery often are allowed to remain in the residence or to return from a rehabilitation center, skilled nursing facility or hospital if appropriate services can be provided by the assisted living residence. It is important to remember that assisted living residences are a bridge between living at home and living in a nursing home. Assisted living residences do not typically provide the level of continuous skilled nursing care found in nursing homes and hospitals.

More recently built facilities are designed with an emphasis on ease of use for 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.

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.
Many ALFs also serve the needs of the mentally ill community, primarily people with some form of dementia including Alzheimer's disease, but also others as long as they do not present an imminent danger to themselves or others. In the United States, legislation enacted by each state defines not only the level of care, but often what conditions are prohibited from being cared for in such a home.

Sweet ByeNBye provides assisted living with two options - a  residential care facility and adult foster care homes. Our services have won awards and have recently received a zero deficiency report from the State of Oregon. Located in Salem, Oregon , 2480 Coral Ave NE, Salem, OR 97305 » Map (503) 362-5885

published under the  Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license (CC-BY-SA); and the GNU Free Documentation License. from Wikipedia

Caregiver Magazine Offers Topics of Interest

The new issue of Caregiver Magazine features several topics that we feel might be of interest to you if you are a family caregiver. The digital magazine allows for an easy read with arrows at the bottom to change pages.
1 - Alzheimers – What Now? Early diagnosis and Q&A about the science.
The National Alzheimers Association agrees that early detection is crucial to long term management and symptom maintenance.
full story here >


2 -  Grand Caregivers : Grandchildren Taking care of their elderly grandparents.
With the increase in multi-generational families, grandchildren are playing an increasing role in the caring for Grandma and Grandpa. full article >


3 - Amy Grant Interview - Amy Grant, songwriter and winner of six grammy awards, talks about her caring for her parents living with dementia. full story >

4 - Financial Abuse - How to Spot a Potential Problem with Your Loved One's Assets
Certain seniors are targets for scams, and financial abuse disguised as a good deal or the right thing to do. Sometimes elderly family members make decisions based on what others have done, not knowing the details or specifics. For example, a woman age 89, knew that her son-in-law's father had a lot invested in Vanguard, and the bond fund had the highest ratings of safety. Her goal was preservation of capital and after talking to Vanguard they recommended the bond fund. She wasn't advised of market risk and volatility. Then she saw the shares starting to go down in value and transferred the funds to a money market account. This type of misunderstanding, or even worse - direct misrepresentation, happens more that we would want to imagine. Read the full story on how to help protect your loved ones financial health. article >


For more information about Caregiver magazine and resources, visit their web site:
www.Caregiver.com


Sweet ByeNBye Inc.
Assisted Living and Adult Foster Care Homes
Salem, OR

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Assisted Living Testimonial Video Added to Home Page