National Assisted Living Week

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
SENATE
Sept. 9, 2004

NATIONAL ASSISTED LIVING WEEK

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, next week, September 12 through 18, is the tenth annual National Assisted Living Week. The theme this year is "Caring for Our Heritage," and encourages residents, families, staff and the community to share their heritage as a means of understanding the diverse backgrounds that form a community and our Nation.

Beginning annually on Grandparents' Day, this honorary week spotlights the role played by assisted living professionals in caring for the nearly one million of our Nation's elderly and disabled. Assisted living provides a home-like environment in which individuals who do not need the level of care provided by nursing homes receive help in order to continue to live independently. The need for this approach will only grow as our Nation ages. I am pleased that my State of Oregon has been a leader in developing the assisted living concept. Caregivers in assisted living are central to this evolution in care and are key to assuring its success by providing support to both residents and families.

National Assisted Living Week was created in 1995 by the National Center for Assisted Living. This year, for the first time, it is being celebrated in conjunction with the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and the Assisted Living Federation of America. National Assisted Living Week emphasizes the importance of this service which has grown 50 percent nationally in the last 5 years.