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Date: Thursday, February 16, 1995
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343

HHS Commissions Study of Assisted Living

The Department of Health and Human Services announced today that it has commissioned a national study of "assisted living," the residential settings that combine housing, personal assistance and other supportive services for persons with disabilities.

"Assisted living represents a promising new philosophy and model for residential service," said David Ellwood, HHS assistant secretary for planning and evaluation, which is supporting the $1.1 million study. "At the same time, we must be certain that residents of assisted living facilities live in secure environments, receive high quality care, and are not exposed to inappropriate risks."

The two-year study will be carried out by Research Triangle Institute, with its subcontractors, Lewin-VHI, Inc. and the University of Minnesota's National Long-Term Care Resource Center.

The goal of assisted living is to provide consumers with more autonomy in lifestyle and more choice over services than traditional nursing homes. Generally, they are less regulated than more medically-oriented facilities like hospitals and nursing homes. Nationally, there are an estimated 30,000 assisted living arrangements serving as many as one million frail elderly and other persons with disabilities.

The HHS-supported study will assess the role of assisted living in the long-term care system, its potential for addressing the needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities, and the regulatory issues raised by its growth. The study will examine the role of assisted living from the perspective of consumers, owners, workers, regulators, developers and investors, and others who have a stake in the nation's long-term care system.

The investigators will interview legislators, regulators, and housing finance agency experts, as well as investors and developers, and survey over 900 assisted living operators, plus their staffs and residents across the country.

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