Assisted Living in Rhode Island

Assisted living in Rhode Island offers seniors long-term housing and care in a safe, social community setting. The average cost of assisted living in Rhode Island is $5,500 a month, or $66,000 a year, according to A Place for Mom’s most recent proprietary data from our network of partner communities.^[01] From charming New England towns to beaches known for their natural beauty, Rhode Island has a variety of benefits for seniors seeking assisted living in one of the nation’s most historic states.

The average monthly cost of assisted living in Rhode Island is around $5,500 a month, according to A Place for Mom’s internal data.^[01]. This amount is only slightly higher than the national average cost of assisted living, which is roughly $5,100 a month.

Assisted living costs throughout the state vary greatly — they range from about $5,000 to over $8,000 a month. Location can contribute to these cost differences — beachfront communities or facilities located in the city of Providence may cost more than communities in smaller towns. Services, amenities, and the types of apartments offered can also affect costs. Luxury communities will often come with a higher price tag than smaller, more homelike options.

The prices listed above cover all of your loved one’s care needs, from assistance with activities of daily living, like dressing and bathing, to nutritious meals, housekeeping, and transportation. Eligible seniors may qualify for Medicare, Medicaid, or other benefits to help offset the costs of assisted living in Rhode Island.

Understanding your loved one’s financial situation and budget is a key first step to paying for assisted living. By planning ahead, your family may be able to access a variety of benefits to help cover Rhode Island assisted living costs. Below, we’ll explore a selection of public and private payment options available to Rhode Island seniors. For more details about how families pay for senior care, check out our complete guide to paying for long-term care.

In Rhode Island, the Department of Health, Office of Residences Regulation is tasked with licensing assisted living communities. These communities are designed for seniors who don’t need significant medical or nursing care, but who do require assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, and personal grooming, as well as room and board and medication assistance.

Facilities are categorized and licensed in the following ways:^[03]

• Fire code: Fire code level 1 licensure is for communities with residents who aren’t capable of self-preservation in case of an emergency. Fire code level 2 licensure is for communities with residents who are able to effectively evacuate themselves in an emergency.
• Medication: Medication level 1 licensure is required when any number of residents in the community require storage or administration of medications. Level 2 licensure is for communities where all residents self-administer medications.
• Dementia care: This type of licensure is necessary when one or more residents have a level of dementia that affects their ability to function, based on state-specified criteria.

An assisted living community can have distinct wings, floors, or areas with separate licenses.

Staffing requirements for Rhode Island assisted living facilities

All assisted living facilities in Rhode Island must:^[04]

• Have a department-certified administrator tasked with maintaining safety and operations
• Have a sufficient number of staff members to manage residents’ health and personal care needs, though there are no minimum staff-to-resident ratios
• Have at least one staff member trained in CPR and emergency preparedness awake and on-site at all times
• Provide at least 10 hours of training and orientation to all staff members who are regularly in contact with residents

Facilities licensed for dementia care must:

• Have a registered nurse with dementia-related training and knowledge of behavioral issues on staff and available for consultation
• Train all new employees for at least 12 hours on dementia communication, behavior management, and dementia care

Understanding Rhode Island’s system of regulation and records

We developed a system to rate each state on how easy — or difficult — it is to find important assisted living records and reports, and we compiled tips to help you in your search.

States with the most transparent records allow you to look up important information about each assisted living facility online, including inspections, complaints, survey results, violations, capacity, and whether the facility accepts Medicaid.

Access to Rhode Island assisted living records: High

Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Rhode Island is exceptional. Here are some key findings that informed this rating:

How to look up Rhode Island assisted living licenses and records

• Visit the Rhode Island Department of Health Online Verification and Complaint Submission Site for a searchable listing of providers.
• Contact the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs directly to find out about the backgrounds of providers.
• If you need to make a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get records, consider browsing the state-by-state resources from the National Freedom of Information Coalition, which includes sample state-specific FOIA letters.

How we arrived at our Rhode Island rating

We developed a standard methodology for state data collection and evaluation, and we based our rating primarily on the objective, state-specific accessibility criteria outlined in these questions:

1. Are licensed assisted living communities listed online in any form? Yes
2. If Yes to #1, is the information updated frequently? Yes
3. If Yes to #1, is the list of licensed communities searchable? Yes
4. Does the state post inspections, complaints, survey results, or violations online? Yes
5. If Yes to #4, is the information updated frequently (within 90 days)? Yes
6. If Yes to #2 and #4, is the enforcement information included in the same place as licensed communities? No
7. If Yes to #4 and No to #6, are violations and inspections searchable at all? No
8. Is information about special licensing for care shown? No
9. Is capacity shown? Yes
10. Are payment types shown (e.g., Medicaid, private pay)? No
11. Is the administrator/contact name shown? Yes
12. Can the state fine a facility? No
13. What is the frequency of inspections? Every 24 months
14. Does the website include pricing of facilities? No