Type A VS Type B in Alberta: Supportive Living, Long-Term Care, and “Secure Space” Explained

A family in Calgary learning about continuing care options in Alberta.

CONTINUING CARE • TYPE A VS TYPE B • SECURE SPACE • CALGARY, ALBERTA

TYPE A VS TYPE B IN ALBERTA: SUPPORTIVE LIVING, LONG-TERM CARE, AND “SECURE SPACE” EXPLAINED

If you’re in Calgary trying to choose care, the terminology can feel like a different language. This guide explains what Alberta means by Type A, Type B, and Type B Secure Space, how these labels connect to older terms like long-term care and designated supportive living, and what families should look for when comparing options.

Updated: • Location: Calgary, Alberta

Most families are not confused because they are unprepared. They’re confused because Alberta has changed terminology, and different providers still use older words.

You might hear “assisted living,” “supportive living,” “DSL,” “memory care,” “LTC,” and then suddenly someone says “Type A” and “Type B.” Alberta Health Services notes that some continuing care pages may still include older language because the Continuing Care Act updated terms effective April 1, 2024.[4]

Medical note: This is educational only. We do not give medical advice or determine eligibility. For urgent concerns, call 911. For guidance in Alberta, call Health Link 811.

Quick takeaway: In Alberta’s continuing care system, Type A refers to settings formerly known as long-term care (nursing homes and similar), and Type B refers to settings formerly known as designated supportive living (DSL).[1]
Type B Secure Space is Type B with a secure space for residents who need specialized dementia care in a secured environment.[2]

FAST DECODE

  • Type A: higher, more complex needs, 24/7 RN or RPN on-site care and assessment.[3]
  • Type B: supportive living level of on-site health and personal care, formerly DSL.[2]
  • Type B Secure Space: Type B with a secure space designed for specialized dementia care.[1]
  • Plain English: the label helps describe the care setting, but what matters most is fit: needs, safety, staffing, and how care changes if needs increase.

THE WORDS FAMILIES HEAR

In Calgary, you will still hear older terms all the time. Alberta’s newer language is meant to standardize the system, but many communities, providers, and families still use what they have always used.

YOU MAY HEAR ALBERTA MAY CALL IT WHY IT MATTERS
LONG-TERM CARE (LTC), NURSING HOME TYPE A[1] Higher, more complex needs, with 24/7 RN or RPN on-site care and assessment.[3]
DESIGNATED SUPPORTIVE LIVING (DSL) TYPE B[2] Supportive living with on-site health and personal care. The specific services vary by site.
MEMORY CARE, SECURE MEMORY CARE, DSL DEMENTIA (DSL4D) TYPE B SECURE SPACE[1] A secured space designed for specialized dementia care. Ask what “secure” means at that specific site.

Note: Alberta Health Services states some continuing care references may still show older terms due to the updated language in the Continuing Care Act.[4]

TYPE A: LONG-TERM CARE

Alberta Health Services describes Type A as a setting formerly known as long-term care, including nursing homes and auxiliary hospitals, with on-site registered nurse and/or registered psychiatric nurse care, assessment, and/or treatment available 24 hours a day.[3]

WHAT FAMILIES TEND TO NOTICE

  • Care needs are complex and unpredictable
  • Frequent clinical monitoring is part of daily life
  • The setting is built for higher medical and nursing needs

WHAT TO ASK ON TOUR

  • Who is on-site evenings and overnight
  • How care changes when needs increase
  • How families are updated and who the main contact is

Local trust move: Health Quality Alberta publishes reporting about continuing care homes, including Type A, based on family experience and quality indicators. You can use that alongside tours to get a fuller picture.[6]

TYPE B: SUPPORTIVE LIVING

Alberta Health Services describes Type B as a continuing care home formerly known as designated supportive living (DSL). It provides on-site registered nurse and/or registered psychiatric nurse care, assessment and/or treatment 24 hours a day.[2]

In real life, families often experience Type B as the middle space. More support than a retirement home that offers private-pay services, less clinically intensive than Type A, and highly dependent on the specific community’s staffing, scope, and routines.

WHAT TO GET IN WRITING

  • What health and personal care supports are included
  • What costs are add-ons and what triggers a rate change
  • How they handle increasing needs and reassessments

Alberta also publishes accommodation and health service standards for continuing care that describe minimum expectations for accommodation services and health services in the province.[5]

TYPE B SECURE SPACE: DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY, SECURED ENVIRONMENT

Alberta Health Services describes Type B Secure Space as Type B with a secure space for residents, formerly referred to as designated supportive living for dementia (often seen as DSL4D).[7]

WHAT “SECURE” USUALLY MEANS

  • Controlled access and safety features designed to reduce wandering risk
  • Specialized dementia routines and cues in the environment
  • Staffing and programming designed for cognitive support

WHAT TO ASK SPECIFICALLY

  • How do you manage exits, wandering, and unsafe leaving
  • What staffing looks like evenings and overnight
  • How they respond when behaviours escalate, and how families are updated

Important: “Secure” is not a single universal package. Ask what is secured, how it is staffed, and how the day is structured. Write it down.

HOW TO TELL WHAT FITS

Families make better decisions when they separate three things: care needs, safety risks, and caregiver capacity. The label helps, but your decision lives in the details.

IF YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT YOU MAY BE LOOKING AT WHAT TO VERIFY ON TOUR
Wandering risk, unsafe leaving, dementia-related safety TYPE B SECURE SPACE Exit management, routines, staffing coverage, behaviour response
Daily living support with health and personal care on-site TYPE B What’s included, add-ons, reassessment triggers, who is on-site overnight
High, complex, unpredictable needs requiring 24/7 RN assessment TYPE A Clinical coverage, care planning, family communication, escalation processes

If you want help matching your parent’s real needs to the right level, we do that every day. We also help families avoid choosing a setting that looks good on paper but falls apart in daily life.

QUESTIONS TO ASK ON TOURS

These questions pull a tour out of marketing mode and into operational reality.

  • Coverage: Who is on-site evenings and overnight, and what does response look like after hours?
  • Care changes: What triggers a reassessment, and what changes when needs increase?
  • Secure space specifics: If this is secure, how do exits work, and how do you prevent unsafe leaving?
  • Behaviour response: What is your process when agitation or resistance escalates, and how do you communicate with family?
  • Pricing clarity: What is included, what is an add-on, and what causes a rate change?

Tour move that changes everything: Ask for the pricing and add-ons in writing, and ask for an example of a real reassessment that changed costs or care level.

PUBLIC VS PRIVATE IN ALBERTA

One reason families feel blindsided is that “supportive living” can mean different things depending on whether it is publicly funded continuing care, private-pay housing with services, or a blended model.

Alberta sets provincial expectations for continuing care through accommodation and health service standards, including minimum standards around meals, security, housekeeping, quality of life supports, and individualized health service expectations based on assessed needs.[5]

Practical takeaway: Ask two separate questions: (1) what care is included and funded, (2) what is considered an add-on or private-pay service at this site. Get it in writing.

WHERE TO START IN CALGARY

If you are trying to figure out which level fits, start with a clear picture of today’s needs, then make a shortlist that is realistic for urgency, budget, location, and safety.

  • Write down the daily risks you are worried about, not just the diagnosis.
  • Tour at least twice if you can, at different times of day.
  • Use Alberta’s definitions to ask cleaner questions during tours.[1]

If you want help: We can translate these terms, build a shortlist, and help you compare options apples to apples based on needs, budget, and urgency.

WANT HELP MATCHING NEEDS TO THE RIGHT LEVEL OF CARE?

We help Calgary families understand what Type A, Type B, and Secure Space mean in real life, then compare communities based on fit, safety, staffing, and budget. Clear options, clean next steps.

TALK WITH A CARE ADVISOR

HOW THIS WAS PUT TOGETHER

This post uses publicly available Alberta Health Services definitions for Types of Care and the terminology notes tied to the Continuing Care Act, plus provincial standards documents that define minimum expectations in continuing care.

We stay in an educational lane. We do not provide medical advice, determine eligibility, or replace clinical assessment.

SOURCES

  1. [1] Alberta Health Services. Types of Care (Type A, Type B, Type B Secure Spaces). View resource
  2. [2] Alberta Health Services. Continuing Care Home Type B & Type B Secure Space. View resource
  3. [3] Alberta Health Services. Continuing Care Home Type A. View resource
  4. [4] Alberta Health Services. Continuing Care terminology note (Continuing Care Act effective April 1, 2024). View resource
  5. [5] Government of Alberta. Continuing Care Standards overview (Accommodation and Health Service standards fact sheet). View resource
  6. [6] Health Quality Alberta. Continuing care homes Type A and Type B reporting (family experience and quality). Type A • Type B
  7. [7] Alberta Health Services. What is Continuing Care (includes Type B Secure Space note). View resource

Note: Educational only. Not medical advice.

Written by: Shar Gray-Asemota, CPCA® (CarePatrol of Calgary)

Medical note: Educational only and not medical advice. For urgent concerns, call 911. For guidance, call Health Link 811.