This type of senior community is for residents who are capable of living independently and require little assistance with daily activities. Units typically have one or two bedrooms with a kitchen or kitchenette and contain 750 square feet or more. Buildings often include a significant amount of common space for dining, recreation, and group activities. Services generally include two meals per day served in a common dining room, regularly scheduled housekeeping and laundry services, and emergency pull cords.

Assisted living can be an intermediate step between independent living and a skilled nursing facility. Service packages most often include three daily meals, housekeeping, laundry, medication management, incontinence care, health care services, transportation, and assistance with bathing, grooming, or dressing. Apartments are usually one-bedroom or studio, and buildings provide common areas for dining, recreation, and group activities. Typically, residents require assistance with daily activities and mobility.

Memory care facilities provide housing and services to seniors who have special needs due to memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or other cognitive disorders. The services and facilities often include those provided at assisted living communities with the addition of security, activities geared toward those with memory loss, and added levels of care needed by those with various forms of dementia.

Skilled nursing care communities are a combination of independent living, assisted living, and health care service facilities in a campus setting, offering seniors the opportunity to “age in place.” Such communities enable individuals to maintain social and geographic ties by not having to make a major move when additional levels of care become necessary.