Sponsor
This research was supported by grants R01AG050602 and R01AG057746 from the National Institute on Aging, and grant R01HS26893 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Published In
Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-31-2021
Subjects
Assisted Living Facilities
Abstract
Assisted living (AL) has existed in the United States for decades, evolving in response to older adults' need for supportive care and distaste for nursing homes and older models of congregate care. AL is state-regulated, provides at least 2 meals a day, around-the-clock supervision, and help with personal care, but is not licensed as a nursing home. The key constructs of AL as originally conceived were to provide person-centered care and promote quality of life through supportive and responsive services to meet scheduled and unscheduled needs for assistance, an operating philosophy emphasizing resident choice, and a residential environment with homelike features. As AL has expanded to constitute half of all long-term care beds, the increasing involvement of the real estate, hospitality, and health care sectors has raised concerns about the variability of AL, the quality of AL, and standards for AL. Although the intent to promote person-centered care and quality of life has remained, those key constructs have become mired under tensions related to models of AL, regulation, financing, resident acuity, and the workforce. These tensions have resulted in a model of care that is not as intended, and which must be reimagined if it is to be an affordable care option truly providing quality, person-centered care in a suitable environment. Toward that end, 25 stakeholders representing diverse perspectives conferred during 2 half-day retreats to identify the key tensions in AL and discuss potential solutions. This article presents the background regarding those tensions, as well as potential solutions that have been borne out, paving the path to a better future of assisted living.
Rights
© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1016/j.jamda.2021.12.004
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/37025
Citation Details
Zimmerman, S., Carder, P., Schwartz, L., Silbersack, J., Temkin-Greener, H., Thomas, K. S., Ward, K., Jenkens, R., Jensen, L., Johnson, A. C., Johnson, J., Johnston, T., Kaes, L., Katz, P., Klinger, J. H., Lieblich, C., Mace, B., O'Neil, K., Pace, D. D., … Williams, K. B. (2021). The Imperative to Reimagine Assisted Living. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, S1525861021010550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2021.12.004