Actually, Betty knows exactly what the alternatives are. She has visited friends in assisted living and nursing homes, and she says she finds such places depressing.
"We like to be around young people," she says. "There's so many walkers over there, and I feel sorry for them because they're in these long corridors."
So the O'Connors have a plan: If and when Jack can no longer climb the stairs, they'll convert their first-floor family room to a bedroom. But they'll still need help, so Betty has begun recruiting friends and neighbors to help create what's called a "village," an organized network of volunteers dedicated to doing what's needed for seniors to stay in their own homes. For an annual fee, these communities help seniors manage household tasks they can no longer handle and arrange transportation when they can no longer drive.
via npr.org