[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     NATIONAL ASSISTED LIVING WEEK

 Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, today I rise to draw attention to a 
vital service upon which many older Americans depend: assisted living. 
I also want to pay tribute to those who work in this nation's assisted 
living facilities and dedicate their lives to making someone else's 
life a little easier.
  Grandparents Day--Sunday, September 10--marks the beginning of the 
sixth annual National Assisted Living Week (September 10-16), sponsored 
by the National Center for Assisted Living. This year's theme is ``The 
Art of Life,'' highlighting the creative new ways in which seniors are 
expressing themselves as they strive to maintain their independence and 
autonomy.
  In the U.S., nearly 28,000 assisted living facilities accommodate 
more than 1.15 million people by providing supervision, assistance, and 
health care services. The need for assisted living services is growing 
with the rapidly increasing elderly population in America. Advances in 
medicine and technology have dramatically extended the ability of 
seniors to live independent lives without the need for assistance with 
daily functions. However, as seniors live longer, more of them 
eventually discover they need a helping hand in order to maintain the 
lifestyle to which they have become accustomed--a lifestyle they should 
not have to give up simply because they are growing older.
  Just as we are full of excitement from new challenges in our 
adolescence, in our later years, after retirement, we recognize that we 
cannot do it all ourselves. The difficult task is understanding when, 
after many years of easy mobility in life, an individual needs 
assistance. National Assisted Living Week promotes not only an 
increased quality of life for the elderly, but builds a team and 
network to accomplish this added quality of life by opening our eyes to 
the obstacles we can conquer if we only ask for a little assistance.
  National Assisted Living Week provides an environment which brings 
together friends and family with the staff and volunteers of assisted 
living programs to discover and explore the contributions and services 
these facilities offer to their communities. These centers will hold 
many events this week to spotlight their activities and help educate 
the communities they serve. National Assisted Living Week works as a 
catalyst, by helping to create strong relationships involving all 
facets of the community, including places of worship, health care 
facilities, schools, and businesses.
  During this National Assisted Living Week, I recognize the selfless 
efforts of those Minnesotans and many other caring Americans who help 
make dignity in retirement a reality, and I offer them my thanks as 
they promote assisted living as a quality way of life for America's 
elderly.

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