What's the Difference Between an Adult Care Facility and a Residential Care Facility in Ohio?

Most Columbus-area communities marketed as "assisted living" are licensed as residential care facilities (RCFs) — see our full explanation of how Ohio licenses assisted living. RCFs are permitted to administer medications, supervise special therapeutic diets, and perform dressing changes as part of their license. A smaller number of Ohio communities are instead licensed as Adult Care Facilities (ACFs), which provide supervision and personal care — help with bathing, dressing, and daily activities — but are not permitted to administer medications, supervise special diets, or perform dressing changes. Both license types can accept a resident with a genuinely short-term nursing need under the same general statutory framework, though the exact day limits differ slightly between the two categories. Because an ACF's more limited medical scope isn't always obvious from marketing materials, it's worth asking a specific Columbus-area community directly which license it holds, especially if a prospective resident manages multiple medications or has a therapeutic diet.