The broken rib could have been a disaster for Claire Soroko. She had been saying goodbye to friends Christmas Day when she stumbled from an outdoor step and banged into an iron handrail, breaking a bone in her chest. Afterward, she couldn't clean, drive or even dress herself.

"I really don't have anyone," says Soroko, a Los Angeles resident in her 70s. "My daughter and son-in-law are very busy. I couldn't ask them to come and stay with me."

Such accidents often can mean the end of living independently. Twenty percent of falls among elderly people require medical attention, and serious injuries, such as hip fractures, often require nursing-home care.

But today's older Americans are increasingly adamant in their desire to avoid nursing homes or assisted living. And they have a movement to back them up. Called "aging in place," it has a beautifully simple premise: Keep seniors safe, well-cared for — and in their homes.

More than 500 residents 60 and older in Soroko's sprawling Park La Brea apartment complex have formed a novel network to ensure that its members can remain in their homes despite illness or physical decline — homes that many have known since the complex opened during World War II. Soroko called the agency's office upon returning from the hospital. By the end of the day, the staff had lined up daily caregivers, transportation to doctor's visits and the hair salon, and visits from neighbors who brought meals and encouragement.

As the nation's demographic shifts to the old and older, such community associations are at the forefront of redefining how older Americans live. About 10 percent of Americans 65 and older live in nursing homes, assisted living or residential care settings. But that number rises dramatically among people who reach their 80s or 90s. Americans are living longer than ever — and their ranks are growing. The number of people 65 and older is expected to double in the next 2 1/2 decades as 78 million baby boomers, the oldest of whom are turning 62 this year, enter their golden years.

Together with businesses and technological advances, these associations could change the portrait of growing old in America.

"We have an image in our heads that as soon as you retire, you sell your home and move to Florida," says Elinor Ginzler, director of livable communities for AARP. "But according to census data, less than 10 percent of people 60 and older had moved in a five-year period. We're connected to the house we're living in and the neighborhood we're living in."

In fact, 90 percent of adults 60 and older say they want to stay in their home or community rather than uproot themselves late in life, a 2006 AARP study found.

Remaining in one's home might even help put the brakes on aging. Older people report a better quality of life, more control, more independence and feeling less stigmatized when they live on their own — less old, in other words.

Says Peter Notarstefano, director of home- and community-based services for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging in Washington, D.C.: "I think we have more of an independence mentality now. ... The seniors now are very different than the seniors 25 years ago. They are more active. Can you see Bob Dylan in a nursing home? I think this generation will want something else."

The marketplace and local governments have begun to respond to these new demands, Ginzler says.

About 80 supportive services programs have sprung up in naturally occurring retirement communities in recent years in the United States, Notarstefano says. About half were funded by Congress as pilot projects.

Although many programs are nonprofit organizations that do not charge member fees, others are springing up in affluent areas that operate with dues paid by members. One of the first supportive services programs was established by residents in the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston in 2000. A nonprofit corporation, Beacon Hill Village operates with annual membership fees that give people preferred access to vendors who have been pre-screened.

Such programs tap into existing services wherever possible — fitness classes at nearby senior centers and long-established Meals on Wheels programs, for example — and create new services only when a gap is identified.

The staff at Park La Brea was initially surprised to find a disjointed community behind the gates. Even though many people had lived there for decades, most didn't know their neighbors. Older adults, roughly 15 percent of the residents, largely fended for themselves.

The staff began to knit those seniors together. Employees launched several social initiatives, including regular field trips, the telephone call line and a friend-to-friend home visitation program. They also started a balance-and-gait exercise class because a fear of falling was one of the biggest concerns about living alone.

"We found people were hungry for interaction," says Laura Diepenbrock, a program manager. "The neighbors now not only know one another, they can rely on one another in case of emergencies. It's really neighbor helping neighbor."

The model is efficient and cost-effective.

"Maybe all you need is someone to come to the house three hours a day to help with a bath and meal preparation," she says. "That is appealing to people. They decide what they need and how much they want. Feeling in control of the world is one of the best goals."

Park La Brea seniors have grown attached to their program. When it briefly lost its federal funding last year, members worked together to save it, says Sally Miller, 75, a who also volunteers in the office. They wrote to lawmakers and sold note cards decorated with their own artwork to raise money. The program survived and has received a fresh infusion of federal funding.

"This is a big community," Miller says. "It's easy to be isolated. This program has brought us a new sense of community and connectedness. You walk around and see people you never would have known if it were not for the program. Before, you might only know a neighbor or two."