Which will you Choose – a Retirement Home or an Assisted Living Facility?

TribecaCare
6th Mar 2025

Is There Any Difference between these Categories?

It may seem a little frightening at first, to know what to choose and how a Retirement Home is different from an Assisted Living Facility. In reality, it is quite simple – Senior Living is an Umbrella Term, which covers:

Retirement Homes
Assisted Living
Memory Care ( for Alzheimer’s and Dementia )
Nursing Homes
Continuing Care Homes

A Retirement Home or Community

“A retirement home is more than just a place to live. It’s a community designed with the unique needs and desires of older adults in mind. The senior living industry has shifted to use the term “communities” instead of “homes.” “At its core, a retirement community is a congregate living facility that offers a maintenance-free lifestyle for its residents. This feature gives them time to focus on what truly matters: enjoying their golden years”.https://www.pegasusseniorliving.com/blog/what-retirement-home-how-to-choose/

Retirement Communities which Offer Independent Living. In these communities, a senior person has his or her own independent apartment. There are others of the same age who live in that community in their own independent apartments and they generally have the same needs, interests, shared hobbies and activities.

They have chosen to live in a Retirement Home because they want to enjoy the pleasures of independent living within a community of people like them and have opted out of running their own homes. This kind of living is suitable for active seniors. “These communities can range from homes to cottages but are most commonly senior apartments offering a concierge approach to retirement living”.

“What sets these communities apart are the additional amenities available within the complex or building. The most important of these are the “Shared Spaces, which are Hubs of Activity and Social Interaction”.

These can include:

Dining rooms for communal meals and social events
Common areas for socializing and making new friends
Recreational activities to keep you active and engaged
Trips, Excursions and Special Events
Sports and Gym Facilities
Healthcare facilities for long-term medical care and acute senior care

Retirement Homes Which Offer Assisted Living

Within the same Retirement Community, there may be special groups of seniors who live in similar apartments but need a higher level of care services. This places them in the category of “Assisted Living”.

“Assisted living residences are best described as housing for people with disabilities or older adults who cannot or choose not to live independently. Most offer apartments that can be appointed with furniture of the resident’s choosing, resulting in a more home-like environment.

Seniors in assisted living enjoy the group environment to keep up with friends and like-minded people. Almost all of these communities offer personal care, medication, dining, housekeeping, and laundry services. Some allow pets and offer pet care services. These senior living communities also provide transportation to and from doctor’s appointments, and many also offer in-house visiting physician services. https://www.pegasusseniorliving.com/blog/what-retirement-home-how-to-choose/

Memory Care

Assisted Living with a higher degree of care services offer Memory Care for Residents with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Many Retirement Homes and Communities today offer separate sections within their premises to look after such patients. Others may refer to independent, special care facilities which only look after elders with Dementia. Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

The kind of care services provided to these residents by specialized staff members who understand the needs of people experiencing Memory Loss:

Speech Therapy
Physiotherapy
One-on-One Sessions or Group Sessions for Engagement and Activities
Regulated Exercise
Craft and Hobbies and Games which challenge the Brain
Planned Socialization and Entertainment

Nursing Homes

“People who do not need to be in a hospital but cannot be cared for at home may opt for short-term stays in a nursing home. In contrast to independent and assisted living communities, nursing home facilities typically operate under a medical model rather than a residential care model.

This form of senior care includes professional rehabilitation and services for people who have acute needs or may be chronically ill. Nursing homes employ skilled nurses who care for patients’ medical needs 24 hours a day.” https://www.pegasusseniorliving.com/blog/what-retirement-home-how-to-choose/

Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs)

“CCRCs are retirement communities that offer a continuum of support for aging care needs. It supports the aging-in-place philosophy of not needing to move as needs change. These communities provide the most common senior services on one campus:

Independent living
Assisted living and memory care
Skilled nursing

These various levels of housing and care may be arranged on different floors or wings of a single high-rise building or in physically adjacent buildings. The emphasis of the CCRC model is to enable residents to avoid having to move facilities. The next level of care is down the hall or in the building next door if needs change”. https://www.pegasusseniorliving.com/blog/what-retirement-home-how-to-choose/

Deciding How to Choose

“Regardless of the type of retirement community you choose, there are some questions to consider to ensure the best fit. The National Institute on Aging suggests the following:

What do you want in retirement?
What is important to you—nursing care, meals, physical therapy, a religious connection, hospice care, or special care units for dementia care?
Do you want a place close to loved ones for regular visitation?

Call and visit different facilities to see how many people live there, what it costs, and what services they offer. Inquire as to whether they have a waitlist. Visiting a community is your chance to interview them and make requests to guide your decision.

Don’t hesitate to ask:

For a meal
To meet with the directors
To meet with a representative from the nursing department

Try revisiting the location without calling ahead on another day of the week. Get to know other staff members and activities at different times of the day.

Keep a mental checklist in your head and notice things like:

Is the dining room attractive and clean?
Does the food look and smell tempting?
Do residents seem happy?
Are the activities engaging?
Are people friendly?

Ask for a copy of the residency contract to review. Carefully read the agreement and question the director about anything you need help understanding. Ask a friend or family member to read over the contract as well”. https://www.pegasusseniorliving.com/blog/what-retirement-home-how-to-choose/