Assisting individuals with daily living activities can be an overwhelming undertaking. It can be physically tasking and the equivalent of a full-time job.
An assisted living facility provides assistance to individuals by administering medications, preparing meals, carrying out household tasks and assisting with physical exercise et al. These facilities are a viable option for families seeking quality care for their aging loved ones.
The facility is usually in secure and less noisy areas. It is usually well furnished with beddings, furniture, fittings and other things that can add to the comfort and ambience of the facility; a place that can be conducive for elderly people.
The essence of assisted living facilities is to provide accommodation strictly for rent to only elderly people who would need people to help them carry out some domestic tasks that they can no longer do on their own. Nurses are assigned to these facilities to help take care of the elderly in the facility as some of them do battle with one sickness or the other.
Businesses in the Assisted Living Facility industry provide a significant range of services such as independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and a combination of these, which are usually referred to as continuing care retirement communities.
Any business that mainly provides skilled nursing is not considered an assisted living facility. Here are the 3 major types of assisted living facilities;
3 Types of Assisted Living Facilities and Which is the Most Profitable?
1. The Typical Resident – Assisted Living Facility
A typical resident-assisted living facility caters to older adults who do not need the level of care offered by a nursing home but prefer more companionship while needing some assistance in day-to-day living. Age groups will vary with every facility. There is currently a transformation occurring in long-term care.
Assisted living communities are accepting higher and higher levels of care and nursing homes are becoming a place for those who are undergoing rehabilitation after a hospital stay or who need extensive assistance. Many assisted living communities now accept individuals who need assistance with all activities of daily living.
The “Overview of Assisted Living Report” from 2010 stated that 54 percent of assisted living residents are 85 years or older; 27 percent are 75–84 years old; 9 percent of residents are between 65 and 74 years; and 11 percent are younger than 65 years. 74 percent of assisted living residents are female; 26 percent are male.
2. The Special Needs – Assisted Living Facility
In a special needs assisted living facility, the residence may assist in arranging the appropriate medical, health, and dental care services for each resident.
The resident generally chooses his or her medical doctor and dental services. Residents who have periods of temporary incapacity due to illness, injury, or recuperation from surgery often choose assisted living as a supportive option to help them recover quickly so then can return home.
In the case of these short-term respite stays, assisted living residences act as the bridge between hospital and home. Short-term respite stays in assisted living are also an option for families when the primary caregiver goes out of town or is otherwise unable to provide the needed care.
In recent time, new facilities are designed with an emphasis on ease of use for disabled people. Bathrooms and kitchens are designed with wheelchairs and walkers in mind. Hallways and doors are extra-wide to accommodate wheelchairs.
These facilities are by necessity fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) or similar legislation elsewhere. The socialization aspects of Assisted Living Facilities are very beneficial to the occupants. Normally the facility has many activities scheduled for the occupants, keeping in mind different disabilities and needs.
3. The Locked Units – Assisted Living Facility
Quite a number of Assisted Living Facilities also serve the needs of people with some form of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease and others with mental disabilities, as long as they do not present an imminent danger to themselves or others.
The sections of the building where these residents live are often referred to as memory care. In the United States, legislation enacted by each state defines not only the level of care, but often what conditions are prohibited from being cared for in such a home.
In California, these units are not “locked” they are secured by alarms, delays, keypads needing a code, etc. However, they are not locked units like a psychiatric ward.
On the average a good percentage of Assisted Living Facilities will work to accommodate a person who suffers from severe forms of Alzheimer’s by having separate private units. These specialized care areas are part of the main building but are secured so residents with Alzheimer’s cannot leave and possibly do harm to themselves.
These care areas usually house fewer people and more attention from the caregivers is provided. The units, usually called locked units, focus on applying cognitive and mental activities to try to help keep the mind fresh. Since there is no cure for the disease, the goal is to work at prolonging or delaying the disease. If one is not engaged in activity, his or her memory will deteriorate more rapidly.
N.B: It is important to state that within the United States assisted living spectrum, there is no nationally recognized definition of assisted living. As widely varied as the state licensing and definitions are, so are the types of physical layouts of buildings in which assisted living services are provided.
The average assisted living facility is in a commercial building, yet some assisted living services use large residential buildings, known as Residential Assisted Living homes, or “RAL”.
Residential Assisted Living homes can vary in price and amenities, and can even be grouped into a separate term known as Luxury Residential Assisted Living Home, or “LRAL”. Assisted living facilities can range in size from a small residential house for one resident up to very large facilities providing services to hundreds of residents.
The Most Profitable Type of Assisted Living Facility
Possible profit level in these types of assisted living facilities depends on the size of the facility as well as its amenities. If you have a large facility with top-notch amenities and maintain full capacity, profits have the potential to reach the six – figure mark or higher.
If you build a true brand and open additional assisted living facilities at new locations, it is possible to make millions of dollars in profit. However, certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate these different types of assisted living facilities.
Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down. You can’t be wrong if you choose a typical resident – assisted living facility as the most profitable type of assisted living facility.
In as much as this can be true based on available statistics, but that in itself cannot be guaranteed if you don’t put in the required effort to make the business profitable.