ASSISTED-UVING PROGRAMS
Posted by admin on November 18th, 2009Concern over the lack of services and quality of care in the existing hoard-and-care system has led to a new movement to provide housing with health care. While assisted living lor supportive housing, enriched housing, congregative care) has not yet been precisely defined, it at¬tempts lo steer long-term care away from the almost exclusively medically oriented direction traditionally taken by nursing homes. One such program developed in Oregon, a leader in exploring alternatives to nursing homes, is modeled on facilities in Denmark and Sweden.
Assisled-living programs appear to he more cost-effective than nurs¬ing homes. Residents maintain their independence in a more humane, personalized setting where housekeeping services, meals, social sup¬port, and supervision of personal care (assistance with activities of daily living) and medication administration are available a^ needed. In some slates (eg. New York), assislcd-living programs are carried out in existing board-and-care facilities with supplemental care provided by a home health agency, since the cost of supplying services to a group of residents in one location is lower than that of serving individuals scat¬tered throughout the community.
Many variations of these programs are being tried and are attracting the attention of some large corporations, who view them as potentially lucrative. The nursing home industry, which stands to lose in this trend toward deinstitutionalization, has not been enthusiastic about assisled-living programs and has sought, at least in one state (Florida), to block
their development.
Health care practitioners should keep informed about these pro¬grams as they become established so they can help their patients select one that is well run and safe and that offers high-quality services.
Tags: ASSISTED
