Which type of Assisted Living Community |
When you are researching a community for your loved one it can be overwhelming because there are so many options to choose from. In the State of Florida all Assisted Living Communities go through a licensing process by the Agency for Health Care Administration. (www.ahca.gov) |
Assisted Living Communities in Florida are broken down into two main categories, Adult Family Care Homes (AFCH) and Assisted Living Facilities (ALF). An adult family care home is a community in a residential setting, just like a neighborhood you would live in, and are able to accept up to 5 residents. These residents cannot require 24 nursing services. Assisted Living facilities are communities that have 6 or more residents, in either a residential setting or large hotel style community.
In addition to the standard assisted living licensure, there are 3 specialty licenses an assisted living community can apply for through the state of Florida.
1) Extended Congregate Care (ECC): An assisted living community that has this additional license can care for their residents as they become frail and need more physical help. In addition they can also arrange for rehabilitation services. For example if your loved one needs total help with bathing, dressing and eating then a community with this license would be required.
2) Limited Nursing Services (LNS): An assisted living that has an additional LNS license can provide their residents with more medical directed care than the standard assisted living licensure.
3) Limited mental Health (LMH): When an assisted living community has this additional license they can provide the resident with proper guidance and care planning for mental health concerns.
Again, in the state of Florida in an assisted living community an individual cannot require 24 nursing supervision provided by a licensed nurse. How do I pay for Assisted Living?
In the state of Florida there is a program called optional state supplementation, commonly referred to as OSS. This state funded program works as a supplemental payment to the community. For example of you have only $500 a month to contribute, then OSS will pay the community the remainder of the cost. Each assisted living community usually has a limited number of OSS spaces available and families need to check on their availability.
