What Services Do Assisted Living Facilities Provide?

What Services Do Assisted Living Facilities Provide?

Once you have decided that an assisted living facility is the right choice for your loved one, you now have to navigate the options in order to find which provider is the right fit. First off, it is important to know that when doing research there are many synonymous terms for assisted living, including:

• Congregate housing
• Residential care
• Adult congregate care
• Domiciliary care

These terms are all appropriate and describe a residence that is suitable for individuals who are:

• Mainly independent but may need help with daily living personal care tasks such as bathing and dressing
• Mobile
• Stable and do not need ongoing medical attention

What services do assisted living facilities provide? While in-depth details of services offered vary depending on the provider, there are a few key services that all assisted living facilities are expected to provide for their residents.

Key Services That Assisted Living Provides

1. A semi-private or private apartment, which includes a furnished or unfurnished bedroom, kitchen area, and bathroom and three meals a day are provided. This is the basic requirement. As a potential patron, you should inquire into the room size and attributes as well as the details of food options to make sure that they are up to par.
   
2. Staff and security are available 24 hours per day to help with personal care, housekeeping, and medications. You should make sure that the specific needs of your loved one are going to be met before deciding on a facility. You should also keep in mind that your loved ones’ care may change as times goes on and you might want to consider a provider that offers a plethora of additional services that you may need later on.
   
3. Social and recreational activities should be plentiful and transportation to appointments available. These activities also vary, depending on the location, size, and type of community in each program. Inquire about the specific types of activities and their frequency and proximity to aid you in your decision.
   

Additional available programs to aid with specialized care are available in some residences. Memory care programs are the most prominent of additional services offered, but you should inquire about others based on your needs. ​

Look and Feel of Assisted Living

Because there is no federal or state regulation for the structure of assisted living facilities, the look and feel of these communities can vary. They can be large institutional type buildings with hundreds of residents, they can be medium sized complexes housing between 20-100 residents with a more apartment community based feel, or they can be intimate single dwelling communities, invoking a family feeling with only 5-20 residents. The type of facility you choose will depend on the desires of your loved one and the type of care they may need in the future. ​

Colorado Assisted Living Litigation

Colorado Law as of April 18th has approved a  “71-page set of rules, which are the first major update of industry regulations since 1986, require more training of personal-care workers, establish more significant food-preparation rules and require that administrators of such facilities have experience in the field.”  This means that you should keep the question, “what services do assisted living facilities provide?” at the forefront of your mind as you tour assisted living facilities. You should be “wowed” by their staffs qualifications, their meal quality, and their administrator’s expertise on the legal and financial aspects of your loved one’s needs. These standards are there to benefit you and you should not settle for anything less than the best. ​

Why Choose Bross Street Assisted Living? ​

We at Bross Street Assisted Living believe in supporting each individual’s ability to remain independent as long as possible in an environment that maximizes the person’s autonomy, dignity, privacy, and safety, as well as emphasizes family and community involvement. We know senior living can feel isolating. That is why focus our efforts on bringing our residents into the best locations and develop meaningful activities to bring them joy, fun, and satisfaction every week. What services do assisted living facilities provide? We check off all the bullet points, and then some. It’s time for your to tour our home today to see how we exceed the definition of assisted living!

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