Resources for Older Adults & Their Families

Whether it is physical or mental wellness, paying for services, wills and estate planning, or medical directives, we’re here to help.

Understanding Terminology

Getting older is a fact of life. But how and where you do it is not. There are a variety of aging services available to you or your loved one to help them stay at home, meet new people, take part in activities and, most importantly, live an enriching and fulfilling life. The brief descriptions below may help you navigate the terminology and types of services available for older adults in Washington State. 

  • Home and Community-Based Services: Like most people you probably want to stay in your home for as long as possible. But you may also need help and support to stay there. That’s where Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) can help you. HCBS providers can offer everything from help with the chores to health care services, or even just someone to call and check in on you. Also, if you are taking care of a family member or friend, these services can give you the help and support that you need as well.
    While there are many different services available, not every community has them. Check with your local area agency on aging for what services are in your area.
  • Adult Day Care: Provides a variety of health, social and related support services in a safe setting during the day. Some daycare programs are designed especially for people with Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Care Managers: Helps people figure out what services are needed and what services. Together, managers and their clients come up with a care plan that best fits an individual’s lifestyle and arranges the services.
  • Congregate Meal Programs: Offer free or low-cost meals in group settings (often in a senior center or senior housing).
  • Financial Counseling Programs: Help an individual balance a checkbook, file taxes and pay bills. They also help with Medicaid, Medicare or other insurance forms.
  • Friendly Visiting: Provides volunteers who will come to visit and talk in a person’s home.
  • Home Care: Helps with activities of daily living and some household tasks, as well as companionship services.
  • Home Health Care Services: Includes part-time nursing services, personal care, wound care, medical supplies or equipment and different kinds of therapies (physical, occupational, and speech) to help a person recover from an illness or surgery.
  • Cleaning or Chore Services: Helps with different chores around the house, such as cleaning, preparing meals or doing laundry. They also help with harder tasks such as washing floors, windows and walls, and shoveling snow.
  • Hospice Care: Provides comfort, nursing care and other services, such as grief counseling, to people who are dying (and their families). Hospice care is provided in your home, in a nursing facility or in a free-standing hospice.
  • Home-Delivered Meals: Bring meals to individuals if they cannot prepare them on their own.
  • Information and Assistance Services: Offer information about services and resources in the area.
  • Personal Care Services: Provide help with things like bathing and dressing.
  • Respite Care: Gives families a break from caring for older people who are unable to care for themselves. Respite care can take place in the older person’s or caregiver’s home.
  • Rehabilitation Services: Offer different kinds of therapies (physical, occupational, and speech) to help a person recover from an illness or surgery.
  • Senior Centers: Provide a place where people can come together for social and recreational activities.
  • Telephone Reassurance: Provides a daily call and check on someone on a regular basis.
  • Transportation Services: Helps people get to and from shopping centers, doctor’s appointments, senior centers, and other places.

Types of Communities

  • Senior Housing: You may want to think about senior housing if you want to live on your own, but don’t want to have all the chores that go along with having a home. It’s also a great option for people who want to live in a community with other seniors.
    Depending on the community you choose, you can rent an apartment either at the market rate or if your income level applies, a lower rate. They are often specially designed with things like railings in bathrooms or power outlets higher up on the wall. They may also offer a 24-hour emergency call service if residents need help right away. Some places may also offer different kinds of services to the people who live there like meals, transportation, social activities and other programs.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development  (HUD)  funds several rental assistance programs for seniors who qualify. These programs include: Public housing, or low-income housing that is owned and operated by a local housing authority. To apply for public housing or Section 8 certificates or vouchers, you must go to your housing authority. Each housing authority has a system for accepting applications. They can tell you what their system is and the steps you will need to take to find an apartment.  Privately owned subsidized housing includes units where the government provides subsidies directly to owners of qualified properties developed with loans or grants from the Federal government. The owners pass along the federal rental assistance subsidy to qualified residents to cover the gap between the resident payment, generally 30 percent of adjusted income, and rent costs. To apply for housing in a privately-owned affordable housing community, you will have to visit the management office for each community that interests you. You can get a listing of the privately owned subsidized housing sites in your area by contacting your local HUD office.

  • Life Plan Community (LPC) (formerly Continuing Care Retirement Communities – CCRCs): Life Plan Communities offer various levels of care and services all in one location, which provides longevity and stability when an individual’s needs change over time. LPCs offer a range of services including nursing and other health services; meals; housekeeping; transportation; emergency help; and personal care. They also usually offer social and educational activities on site.
    LPCs are also different from other types of housing options for older people because they offer you a contract that says the community will provide you with housing and services for life. Most LPCs require a one-time entrance fee and then monthly payments thereafter. These fees vary by community, depending on the type of housing and services they offer. Other LPCs operate on a rental basis, in which you would make monthly payments, but would not have to pay an entrance fee. 
  • Assisted Living: If a person needs some help every day, but not constant nursing care, assisted living may be a good choice. Assisted living residences provide help with the things people need to do every day, such as bathing or getting dressed, taking medicine, cooking, shopping, housekeeping, laundry and getting around – these are often referred to as “Activities of Daily Living.” Even with all of this assistance and support, the individual is still given the chance to stay active and make their own decisions. Assisted living facilities may be part of a retirement community or nursing home, or they may stand alone. They offer single or double rooms, or sometimes even suites or apartments, depending on a person’s needs and how much he or she can afford.
  • Memory Care: Memory care is a form of residential long-term care that provides intensive care for people with memory issues. Older adults with any form of dementia can benefit from the specialized 24-hour care and structured support within these organizations. 
  • Nursing Homes: Nursing homes offer round-the-clock care if someone is too sick to live on their own, or if they need to recover after having an illness or operation. Some people stay for a short time in a nursing home and then go home. Other people may have more extensive needs and stay for the long term.  Nursing homes are licensed by the state to provide nursing care, personal care, and medical services. They may also provide speech, occupational, or physical therapy to support recovery from an illness, injury, or surgery. Skilled Nursing homes (also referred to as Skilled Nursing Facilities – SNF), also provide meals, laundry, and housekeeping services as well as daily activities for life enrichment and socialization. 

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