Assisted living services for old people

Assisted living residences or assisted living facilities (ALFs) are supplementary services for old people which include service and facilities promoting independence and dignity. Assisted living as it is today, roots from the eldercare services of 1990s, which catered to the needs of seniors for whom Independent living was no longer appropriate but who do not require round-the-clock nursing home services. Assisted living provides assistance to adults who need help with everyday tasks. They may need help with tasks like: personal hygiene, dressing, nutrition and so on, without requiring full-time nursing care. Likewise, some of these assisted living facilities are part of retirement communities as well. Others include those which are near nursing homes. This physical proximity in terms of physical distance and travel time is never an impediment when it comes to emergency or important health services and conditions.

Usually Assisted Living costs less than nursing home care. However, it is still fairly expensive because it involves a lot of involvement in terms of man-power. In most cases: older people themselves or their families usually bear the expenses. However, health and long-term care insurance policies may also cover some of these costs.

These days’ efforts are being made to qualitatively enhance the warmth of these impersonal institutional structures and services by making them more personal. With sensitivity in terms of the nature of location, nutrition (home-cooked meals), personal space, staff and so on within a cost-effective institutional structure. Ensuring all these services at a lower price often protects a lot of social and psychological dignity which are often intricately linked to economic factors. In the larger social-demographic and cultural analysis, it becomes clear that Assisted Living models are high on demand in most Western societies where there is an emphasis on independence and economic self-responsibility. On the other hand, Eastern social and familiar structure which are based on models of emotional and economic collectivism come with a sense of psychological responsibility/duty on the part of children towards their elders. Thus, it insulates the elder members of the family from the disturbing questions of loss of independence and dignity.

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