What is an assisted living facility?

What is an assisted living facility?

Karl Steinberg (Associate Medical Director, Sharp Mission Park Medical Group) gives expert video advice on: What are the signs my parent is ready for long-term care?; What is the first thing I should do if I believe my parent needs long-term care?; Who can help me implement a long-term care plan for my parent? and more...

Assisted living facilities are called different things in different places, but for example, in California, it's considered a residential care facility for the elderly, but this is beyond independent living. These are definitely people who need some degree of assistance with activities of daily living, or the instrumental activities of daily living that would be like meal preparation and things of that nature. These are a variety of places. Some of them may be small, some may be big institutional type settings. They may share a room with somebody or they may have a room or an apartment of their own, but essentially all assisted living facilities have hands-on assistance for people who require it.