These terms refer to the same thing, but the more appropriate term is assisted living communities.
As advocates for assisted living it is our responsibility to be consistent in philosophy and action. Over the years assisted living professionals have touted the residential approach to care provision and the bedrock belief of choice and dignity in service delivery. This mindset has served us well and established assisted living as the preferred choice of seniors seeking a combination of housing and services.
As assisted and senior living evolves to meet the needs of “gray tsunami “, often referred to as the baby boomer generation, we must continue to refine philosophy and discussion of our service venue. In order to accomplish this task it is essential assisted living vocabulary reinforces choice, dignity and independence . The words we speak convey our philosophy and direct our actions.
Eliminate: assisted living facility, unit, long-term care, admission, discharge, tour, patient, and eldery.
Use Instead (respectively): assisted living community, room, senior living, move-in, move-out, visit, resident, elder.
To learn more about Assisted Living and its philosophy, visit http://www.alfa.org/assistedliving .
