Most of us will get to the point where either we, or our aging parents, will require some sort of assistance when we get too old take care of ourselves properly. It is important that we try to maintain our dignity and self worth by living as independently as possible for as long as possible.

This is where assisted living facilities can be life saving. Most health care providers are able to connect you to the right types of assistance you may need. Assisted living takes on many forms and it depends on the level or type of need of the individual. In general, there are three main types of assisted living. Housing needs, nutritional needs and personal support needs.

Housing needs make subsidized housing or apartments available to those that cannot afford normal housing on their incomes or pensions. Hospitality needs make hot meals available to those that cannot cook for themselves and personal support needs assist those that need routine care for daily tasks like bathing, dressing, changing linen to name a few.

There are residential facilities which may have a separate wing called assisted living and these generally provide these services all under one roof. Once a senior becomes too frail to take of themselves and these services are no longer sufficient in assisting them to live independent lives, they can be moved to a full care facility, often called Frail Care. Here they will be nursed in a hospital like setting until they are well enough to return to assisted living or they pass on due to old age or illness.

It is comforting to know that there are options and that we do have choices. If you need to know more about the choices in your area, speak to your doctor or nurse practitioner and they will know who to contact for you.