[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17985]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     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.

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