Assisted living residences or assisted living facilities (ALFs) 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 1990's as an alternative on the continuum of care for people who cannot live independently in a private residence, but who do not need the 24-hour medical care provided by a nursing home. Assisted living is a philosophy of care and services promoting independence and dignity.

There is no nationally recognized definition of assisted living in the US. Assisted Living facilities are regulated and licensed at the 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.

Types

As varied as the state licensing and definitions are, so are the types of physical layouts of buildings that provide assisted living services. ALFs can range in size from a small residential house for three residents up to very large facilities providing services to hundreds of residents.

People who live in newer assisted living facilities usually have their own private apartment. There is usually no special medical monitoring equipment that you 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. 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.

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

Statistically, an assisted living resident needs assistance with an average of three ADLs.

A typical assisted living facility resident would be a woman in her mid- to late 80's who does not need the intensive care of a nursing home but prefers more companionship and needs some assistance in day-to-day living.

Residents of assisted living facilities need not be concerned with daily meal preparation, because a central kitchen and dining facility typically provides three meals each day. The central dining facility also allows for visiting with others without having to leave home. This greatly reduces the isolation that elderly, disabled people may suffer when living alone and who are afraid (usually for physical reasons) to leave their homes.