National Assisted Living Week 2023: A Great Opportunity to Raise Awareness

September 19, 2023

Unless you or someone you care about has spent time in an assisted living community, you might not even know what assisted living is. There are still a lot of misconceptions about this type of care and who can benefit from it.

To help bring more awareness to assisted living — and to give more recognition to the people who live, work and volunteer in assisted living communities — the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) established National Assisted Living Week in 1995.

National Assisted Living Week is an opportunity each year to honor the role assisted living plays in peoples’ lives.

Defining Assisted Living

Assisted living is a residential option that provides older adults with the assistance they need to perform routine activities, some of which are referred to as activities of daily living, or ADLs. Help with bathing and getting dressed are examples of ADLs.

Seniors with mobility issues can also benefit from assisted living. So can those who have difficulty cooking for themselves or remembering to take their medications.

Rather than focusing on what they can no longer do on their own, residents in assisted living communities (and their loved ones) are thankful for all they can continue to do with a little help from caring individuals who are well-trained to anticipate and attend to their needs.

Here at Emerald Heights, we’re delighted to see so many older adults thrive after they become part of our community. Seniors still living on their own or with family may hesitate to ask for help because they don’t want to be “a burden” to others. But here, those concerns melt away. Residents relax and shift their attention to things they enjoy instead of feeling anxious about how they’re going to accomplish necessary tasks or worrying about what others will think of them.

Breaking Down Assisted Living Myths

Assisted living is not the same as independent living in a retirement community, though the same community may offer both (as we do here at Emerald Heights). As the term implies, independent living is for older adults who can live independently, without assistance or perhaps with minimal help from a partner.

Nor is assisted living the same as being in what many people think of as a nursing home. In senior living, we refer to these centers of care as skilled nursing facilities. Typically, they’re open to adults of all ages who need round-the-clock medical care following surgery or a hospital stay for an illness or injury. 

Skilled nursing facilities have registered nurses, licensed practical nurses or a combination thereof on their staffs, and a physician oversees the care they provide. Assisted living communities may not have nurses on staff around the clock, though they may have a medical practitioner on call. 

Emerald Heights Has Even More Reason to Celebrate Assisted Living This Year!

In light of our plans to expand our assisted living neighborhood at Emerald Heights, our excitement builds with each new milestone we achieve in our progress — and we recently achieved a big one.

On August 22, we held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 54 new assisted living apartments we’re adding to our community. Grant Linacre, our executive director, initiated the ceremony, and when it was over, we had a reception for residents who wanted to take part in the excitement.

Along with the new assisted living residences, our expansion project includes new dining, spa, activity and outdoor areas.

A Special Assisted Living Opportunity at Emerald Heights

The demand for top-quality assisted living in the Redmond area continues to grow, and Emerald Heights has built its reputation for excellence over the course of more than 30 years. As word gets out about the new assisted living residences we’re adding to our community, we expect our waitlist to grow significantly.

Here’s the Best News

You or your family member can get a spot at the front of the line by joining us now. We’re currently able to welcome a limited number of new residents directly to assisted living. (Normally, new residents must be eligible for independent living when they move in.)

Those who are interested can move directly into one of our existing assisted living residences now and secure a priority position on the list for the brand-new apartments. Residents living in our current assisted living apartment have first priority to choose their preferred location in the new building and plan their move into a brand-new apartment home.

Check Us Out!

If you’re considering assisted living for yourself or someone you care about, we encourage you to learn more about our new apartment homes and assisted living at Emerald Heights.

Do you live in the area? The best way to see what our community is all about is to contact us and set up a time to visit. That way, you can experience Emerald Heights in person. While you’re exploring our campus, you’ll have the chance to talk with those who know us best — our residents. You’ll find that even with our gorgeous surroundings and appealing lifestyle, it’s the people in our community who make Emerald Heights such a beautiful place to live.

Featured Image: Rice Fergus Miller, 2017