Assisted living communities have assumed an important role in America’s long term care system. They provide an intermediate option for seniors who can’t live at home safely, but who don’t need the heavy duty care offered at a nursing home. Assisted living is an essential component of the network of long-term care options for seniors. Communities are best served when there are a diverse options of assisted living providers in the area, and availability that’s sufficient to serve the needs of the older population in the area.
According to a report from AARP, some states are faring better in this area than others. Here’s a ranked list of states where seniors have the best access to assisted living. The rankings are based on the number assisted living units (or beds) per 1000 seniors (defined as 65+) in the state. This allows us to fairly compare large states to small ones and see which states are leading the way in terms of access to assisted living care.
Top 10 States for Assisted Living Access
1. Minnesota: 78 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
2. Oregon: 62 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
3. Idaho: 60 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
4. Wisconsin: 57 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
5. Washington State: 54 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
6. California: 50 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
7. Iowa: 47 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
8. Nebraska: 46 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
9. Maine: 42 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
10. Indiana: 39 assisted living units per 1000 seniors
Stay tuned. Next week we’ll list the states with the poorest access to assisted living care.
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