An assisted living residence is often called an assisted living facility or ALF. It is meant to help people who need assistance with some activities of daily living such as taking their medications at the correct dosage and time or taking a bath, but who do not need the 24-hour care they could receive at a nursing home. Texas licenses ALFs as personal care facilities. In Texas, a facility only needs to be licensed if it cares for more than four residents.
The first ALFs opened in the 1980s, when the United States was dealing with an aging, but basically healthy, population who did not have family nearby to help meet the few care needs they did have. These people resisted going into nursing homes, which at the time offered only limited privacy and personal choice. ALFs usually provided people with private rooms or apartments; social activities and outings were available but not mandatory.
More than one million people in the United States currently call an assisted living residence home. Some of these people have cognitive impairments due to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, others are physically impaired but cognitively intact, and still others suffer from both kinds of impairments. Texas is home to 830 licensed and 4000 unlicensed personal care facilities.
Assisted living facilities offer residents a private apartment or room and three balanced meals per day. In addition, they provide help with common physical needs such as keeping track of medicines, showering or bathing, dressing, and toileting. Depending on the rules in each state, some facilities provide heavier care, such as helping people transfer from their bed to their wheelchair and even feeding residents.
ALFs charge a basic rate for room and board. In addition to that, they also charge for the assistance each person needs to function. The more help someone needs, the more he or she pays to remain in the facility.
For instance, in Austin, Texas, ALFs charge an average of $1500 per month for room and board alone. Once you figure in the services most people need, that cost goes up by about $500 per month. These costs are still less expensive than the costs of nursing homes which, in the Austin regions, charge an average of $3000 to $4000 each month.
Throughout the United States, approximately 90% of ALF residents pay for their care from their own assets and resources. Texas was among the first two states to approve laws for a Community-Based Alternatives program which allows Medicaid to help pay for the cost of assisted living care. Over 20,000 Texans have taken advantage of this program.
Assisted living is not an appropriate care option for everyone. Those who live in an ALF must be able to comprehend emergency instructions (e. G., “Go out that door and wait for me on the sidewalk.”), and must be able to evacuate themselves from a dangerous situation such as a burning building. Assisted living is also not an appropriate option for anyone who requires 24/7 care and supervision nor is it a good choice for people who require invasive procedures, such as IV medications, as part of their care.
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