What assisted living means for senior citizens that need assistance with doing some or all of their daily lives is dignity and freedom. To give you an idea of what type of facility an assisted living is, it is somewhere in the middle between independent living and nursing homes. Independent living communities are for seniors that want to live on you their own, but who do not want to do the tasks of maintaining their home. And seniors get to be around other seniors that are of the same age and who share some of the same interests. These independent living retirement communities have several different social activities, community service and trips for their senior residents. Some independent living facilities will also provide meal preparation for an additional fee and other services and amenities.
What is the difference between independent living and assisted living?
The key difference to the residents that live in independent living and others that stay in an assisted living, are the ones in assisted living are not able to live alone safely, but at the same time they are somewhat independent, and they do not need the specialized care that will come with residing in a nursing home.
What’s the difference between assisted living and nursing homes?
The main difference is that nursing homes are set up to care for seniors that are too weak for independent living and who also need skilled nursing supervision. Seniors that are self-sufficient or who only need to be assisted with some of their daily living activities are a better fit for an assisted living.
Assisted living residences encourage their residents to be an independent as possible. There are some facilities that are referred to as continuing care communities, which is a combination of assisted living, independent living, and nursing homes. These communities offer seniors easier transition from one community to the next, if and when their health improves over time.