Discussions
Discussions
The History of Assisted Living Facilities-Assisted Living Week
Hello! This week is National Assisted Living Week. I want to begin by writing a little about the history of Assisted Living Facilities. When we hear assisted living, we may picture a nursing home. But that isn't necessarily what assisted living is. The concept was developed to provide support in a home-like setting while helping people maintain independence, dignity, choice, and quality of life.
Assisted living, as we know it today, developed largely in response to the limitations of the traditional nursing-home model. Beginning in the 1980s, a new philosophy of care began to emerge. Advocates promoted more individualized services and greater independence as alternatives to traditional nursing facilities.
During the 1980s and 1990s, assisted living expanded rapidly, and a variety of models began to emerge. By 1998, there were an estimated 11,459 assisted-living facilities in the United States. Today, there are approximately 39,000 assisted-living and residential-care facilities, serving approximately 1.2 million residents.
Do you or a loved one live in an assisted living facility? Are you a caregiver for someone who does? If so, please consider sharing the resources below with your assisted living healthcare team. These resources can help staff better understand bronchiectasis and NTM lung disease and the unique needs of individuals living with these conditions. 💙 Knowledge leads to better understanding, better communication, and better care. Please share these resources with the healthcare professionals who support you or your loved one.
All About Bronchiectasis Booklet https://social.bronchandntm.org/resources/detail/25
Do You Know About NTM Lung Disease (Part1)https://social.bronchandntm.org/resources/detail/8
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Replies
Additional information on the Concepts of Assisted Living is listed below:
1. 🏠 A home-like environment-Residents typically live in their own room, apartment, or suite rather than a hospital-like room. The goal is to preserve a person's sense of home, privacy, dignity, and belonging.
2. Independence-Assisted living is designed around the idea: Help me with what I cannot safely do myself—but let me continue doing what I can do. This might mean assistance with: Bathing, dressing, meals, medications, housekeeping, transportation, mobility, and appointments, while allowing the individual to maintain as much independence as possible.
3. ❤️ Person-centered care -Modern assisted living increasingly emphasizes person-centered care—the individual's preferences, routines, goals, values, and definition of quality of life.
4. 🧑⚕️ Support rather than constant skilled nursing- Assisted living generally occupies a space between completely independent living and skilled nursing care. A person may have chronic lung disease and may need assistance with activities of daily living while still being cognitively independent, socially active, and capable of making their own health decisions.
This information is for educational purposes only for Assisted Living Week. The personal and healthcare needs of some individuals may change over time: many people prefer to stay in their own homes with assistance as needed. We all have choices to make depending on our own personal circumstances.
This is good information Katie. My mother is in an assisted living facility. She doesn't have lung disease, but she has other chronic conditions. Most residents at the facility use the in-house Nurse Practitioner, but for her chronic conditions we take her to see specialist and then have the NP at the assisted living to follow the orders. Most NP's are familiar with heart and diabetes patients and their medications and treatments. But for bronchiectasis and NTM patients, the resources you shared are valuable tools for the in-house NP. These resources can help their residents having a better quality of life while living in an assisted living residence.
What a wonderful wealth of information about assisted living. Thank you for keeping our community informed, Katie.
Comments
My aunt lives in an assisted-living community. She had been struggling to cook and clean for herself while living alone at home. After becoming seriously ill and being discharged from the hospital, she moved into assisted living. At first, she was very disappointed that she couldn’t return home. However, once she settled in, she enjoyed it so much that she decided to make it her permanent home.
Now she has her own space, nutritious meals prepared for her, help when she needs it, a variety of planned activities to enjoy, and unexpected friends!
It is not our intention to serve as a substitute for medical advice and any content posted should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. We make every effort to support our members, our medical professionals cannot and will not provide a diagnosis or suggest a specific medication; those decisions should be left to your personal medical team. While we encourage individuals to share their personal experiences with Bronchiectasis and NTM, please consult a physician before making changes to your own Bronchiectasis and NTM management plan.
Community posts are monitored by the 360social Community Manager, as well as staff respiratory therapists, educators, and other medical professionals.