Senior Living
Independent senior living communities, also known as retirement communities, senior living communities or independent retirement communities, are housing designed for seniors 55 and older.
Independent senior living communities commonly provide apartments, but some also offer cottages, condominiums, and single-family homes. Residents are seniors who do not require assistance with daily activities or 24/7 skilled nursing but may benefit from convenient services, senior-friendly surroundings, and increased social opportunities that independent senior living communities offer.[1]
Independent senior living communities are also popular among snowbird seniors who wish to downsize or travel freely without the burden of managing a home.
Many retirement communities offer dining services, basic housekeeping and laundry services, transportation to appointments and errands, activities, social programs, and access to exercise equipment. Some also offer emergency alert systems, live-in managers, and amenities like pools, spas, clubhouses, and on-site beauty and barber salons.
Independent senior living properties do not provide health care or assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as medication, bathing, eating, dressing, toileting and more.[2] Independent senior living differs from continuing care communities, which offer independent living along with multiple other levels of care, such as assisted living and skilled nursing, in one single residence.[3]
Independent senior living residents are permitted to use third-party home health care services to meet additional needs.
The total operational resident capacity for independent senior living communities in the United States is 245,000.[4] Holiday Retirement is the largest single provider of independent living with a resident capacity of 40,440[5] at 315 retirement communities throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Types
- Senior Apartments: Most common type of independent senior living. Services usually include recreational programs, transportation, and meals service.
- Housing Units: Senior communities that offer single-family homes, duplexes, mobile homes, townhouses, cottages, or condominiums. Some communities are tied to an adjoining, apartment-style independent senior living community. Residents may have the option to rent or buy.
- Continuing Care: Communities that provide access to independent living communities, as well as assisted living and skilled nursing. Residents can transfer among levels of care as needs change. Some CCRCs also provide memory care facilities.
- Subsidized Housing: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides communities for low-income seniors. Subsidized communities usually adhere to strict criteria and may have lengthy waiting lists.
- Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC): A community that has a large population of senior residents but was not originally designed for seniors. These evolve naturally as people age-in-place over time or migrate into the same area. They are not created to meet the needs of seniors.
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a borough in (and the county seat of) Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Juniata River, approximately 32 miles (51 km) east of Altoona and 98 miles (158 km) west of Harrisburg. It is the largest population center near Raystown Lake, a winding, 28 miles (45 km) long flood-control reservoir managed by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The borough is located on the main line of the Norfolk Southern (formerly Pennsylvania) Railroad, in an agricultural and outdoor recreational region with extensive forests and scattered deposits of ganister rock, coal, fire clay, and limestone. Historically, the region surrounding Huntingdon was dotted with iron furnaces and forges, consuming limestone, iron ore and wood (for charcoal production) throughout the 19th century. Dairy farms dominate the local agriculture. The town is a regular stop for the Amtrak passenger service which connects Harrisburg with Pittsburgh.
Huntingdon is home to Juniata College, a private liberal arts college founded by members of the Church of the Brethren in 1876, and branch campuses of DuBois Business College and Penn Highlands Community College. In adjoining Smithfield Township (across the Juniata River) are the regional headquarters of the Pennsylvania Game Commission (Southcentral Division) and the Bureau of Forestry (Rothrock State Forest). State Game Lands 322 extends north from Huntingdon Borough in the direction of Petersburg. Public parks are the George N. Weaver Memorial Park (ball field and playground) at the end of 16th Street, Portstown Park along the Juniata River, and Blair Field bordering Standing Stone Creek. Historic Blair Park, directly across the same stream, is owned and managed by a nonprofit group; it contains a gazebo, and a level hiking and biking trail. A vintage chapel within the park is used by the congregation of Epiphany of Our Lord Orthodox Church.