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.
Butler
Butler is a city and the county seat of Butler County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.[2] It is located 35 miles (56 km) north of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,757.[3] Butler was named the 7th best small town in America by Smithsonian magazine in May 2012.[4]
Butler was named for Maj. Gen. Richard Butler,[5] who fell at the Battle of the Wabash, also known as St. Clair’s Defeat, in western Ohio in 1791.
In 1803 John and Samuel Cunningham became the first settlers in the village of Butler. After settling in Butler, the two brothers laid out the community by drawing up plots of land for more incoming settlers.[5] By 1817, the community was incorporated into a borough.[5]The first settlers were of Irish or Scottish descent and were driving westward from Connecticut. In 1802 the German immigrants began arriving, with Detmar Basse settling in Jackson Township in 1802 and founding Zelienople the following year. After George Rapp arrived in 1805 and founded Harmony, larger numbers of settlers followed. John A. Roebling settled Saxonburg in 1832, by which time most of the county was filled with German settlers.