Starting in early 2001, Arkansas developed a model of affordable assisted living — The Gardens at Osage Terrace (the Gardens) — a 45-unit facility in Bentonville, Ark. The service and rent charges are affordable to people with incomes as low as $564 per month (the 2004 Federal SSI payment amount).

The project was part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) national program Coming Home™: Affordable Assisted Living.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Aging and Adult Services, Office of Long-Term Care and Arkansas Development Finance Authority partnered on the project.

The Community Development Corp. of Bentonville/Bella Vista developed and owns the Gardens, and Mercy Health Systems of Northwest Arkansas provides the services (e.g., staffing assessments, care and meal delivery, services billing).

Key Results

• The Community Development Corp. participated in the state's development process for the new assisted-living regulations.
• The corporation designed the facility to comply with or exceed the anticipated physical requirements for the regulations.
• It established a viable alternative, or "Plan B," to operate the gardens as an independent-living residence with in-home care if an assisted-living development became impossible for regulatory or financial reasons.

Funding
RWJF supported this project with a grant of $299,900 from February 2001 to January 2004.