Safety ranks #1 on assisted living satisfaction survey

Most assisted living residents are happy with their communities and feel safe and well-cared for there, according to a recent poll of 500 seniors across the country.

An overwhelming 99 percent responded they feel safe, while 94 percent reported satisfaction with their overall quality of life in their assisted living (AL) communities. Ninety percent said they are satisfied with the overall quality of care they receive from their AL organizations.

There’s still room for improvement, the survey shows: only 86 percent of those surveyed felt that employees cared about them “as a person.”

“Every morning, close to a million American seniors wake up in their assisted living community, have an active and engaging day in a safe, independent and social environment, and go to sleep that night eager to greet a new day,” Rick Grimes, president of the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), said in a press release. “That fact may not make for a sensational headline, but it’s the reality of assisted living.”

The current survey shows an upward trend compared to a much larger survey released last year. In the 2011-2012 National Survey of Customer and Employee Satisfaction in Assisted Living Communities, which included nearly 44,000 residents and families, 91 percent of residents rated their assisted living communities as “good” or “excellent.” Residents were least satisfied with the adequacy of storage space, comparison of charges and the opportunities to “grow as a person,” ALFA noted.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.