An Assisted Living Facility, ALF, is a place where an aging relative lives in an apartment like setting but can still receive assistance with personal care. In an ALF, skilled nursing care is not usually provided by the ALF staff; however, it generally is made available on an as-needed basis through skilled nursing care providers. A nursing home is typically a hospital-like environment, in which your loved one lives. The environment provides full-scale skilled nursing care. In either case, if your loved one has Alzheimer's disease, you should make sure that the facility is "locked down."