What Defines Assisted Living in Florida?
Throughout the state of Florida, there are citizens who require specialized assistance to enjoy a reasonable standard of living. Families throughout Florida rely on assisted living facilities for a variety of reasons. Before you start investigating an assisted living situation for your loved one, you should become familiar with the details associated with this type of living arrangement.
What Is Assisted Living?
Assisted living is a clinical living arrangement that provides 24-hour monitoring by trained professionals to allow clients to live as comfortably as possible. These facilities offer as few restrictions on daily activities as possible, and can range in size from one client to many hundreds of residents. The living arrangements can be individual apartments, or rooms shared by two or more residents.
What Types Of Services Are Offered?
Residents who live in these types of facilities are unable to enjoy a reasonable standard of living on their own. This is because of chronic medical conditions or some other sort of impairment that requires around-the-clock monitoring. As a general rule, most assisted living facilities offer services such as:
- Regular food service that can include special dietary requirements
- Medication dispensing
- Arranging health care appointments and providing transportation to and from those appointments
- Personal hygiene and maintenance services
- Scheduled recreational activities offsite and onsite
Who Can Use An Assisted Living Facility?
Contrary to popular belief, these types of facilities are not reserved for the elderly. Anyone age 18 or older who is unable to live on their own can qualify to reside in a specialized facility. Some of the other guidelines used to determine residency in an assisted living community include:
- When a client needs help eating, dressing themselves, or attending to personal care
- Required assistance when properly taking medications
- Required nursing assistance for mental or physical issues
What Types Of Licenses Must An Assisted Living Facility Have?
In the state of Florida, every assisted living facility must have a standard state’s license that covers direct physical contact with clients and assistance with daily activities.
An Extended Congregate Care license (ECC) is required by facilities that provide long-term basic care to residents. The services offered by an ECC licensed facility include dietary needs, full personal care assistance, constant monitoring of vital signs, and limited physical health assessments.
A Limited Mental Health license (LMH) is required when a facility has more than one resident with diagnosed mental health issues.
Florida families entrust the health and safety of their loved ones to assisted living facilities. Many facilities have excellent records of offering proper care in accordance with the elder law guidelines of the state. If you are concerned that your loved one is not receiving care in line with the state’s elder law statutes, then contact our experienced elder law lawyers at The Mattar Firm for help.