DOES THE ENVIRONMENT OF ALFS MATCH THE PHILOSOPHY OF ASSISTED LIVING?
The answer to this question is mixed. On the one hand, residents of assisted living facilities had considerably more privacy and choice than residents of most nursing homes and the majority of board and care homes. On the other hand, there was significant variability within the assisted living industry, and a substantial segment of the industry provided environments that did not appear consistent with the environmental aspects of the assisted living philosophy. • DO ALF SERVICES MATCH THE PHILOSOPHY OF ASSISTED LIVING? The ability of assisted living facilities to meet health-related unscheduled needs of residents is still an open question – in part because of facility policies (e.g., staffing, retention criteria or discharge policies) and in part because of potential constraints imposed by state licensure regulations. • CAN ALF RESIDENTS AGE IN PLACE? The answer depends on one’s concept of aging in place. For example, in most ALFs, a resident could move from relative independence (e.g.
