Explore senior care information, tips, and tools to help you make the very best decisions for your aging loved one — and yourself.
It can be difficult to recognize when a loved one needs a higher level of care. Signs like weight loss, poor hygiene, and increasing forgetfulness can point to more serious underlying problems. Detecting changes in your loved one’s health and abilities early on can help safeguard their well-being. The same applies to identifying and reducing caregiver stress before it leads to burnout. The following articles address red flags to look for, how to assess a senior’s ability to live independently, and more.
Caregiver Burnout: How to Identify and Reverse Course
Discover tips and resources for alleviating caregiver stress.
What to Do After a Dementia Diagnosis: 10 Steps to Move Forward
Use these steps to help you cope and plan care for your loved one.
A Guide to Care: Parkinson’s Disease Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
Parkinson’s disease affects a lot of seniors. Learn about the causes, symptoms, and treatment.
What Are Activities of Daily Living and How Are They Assessed?
With an ADLs checklist to track changes in a senior's ability to perform basic tasks, you can assess their well-being an...
One of the biggest challenges caregivers face is ensuring an aging loved one’s health and safety while respecting their wishes. When other relatives aren’t on the same page, the chances for complications only increase. The following resources can help you navigate difficult care decisions, conversations, and family dynamics.
5 Steps to Take When You Can No Longer Take Care of an Elderly Parent
Learn how to talk to your family about the need for a new caregiving arrangement.
Siblings Fighting Over Elderly Parents’ Care: 10 Common Problems and Solutions
Siblings may disagree on how to best care for aging parents. Learn how to stop these family disputes with communication tips.
How to Deal With Irrational Elderly Parents Who Refuse Help: 10 Useful Tips and Strategies
Explore helpful strategies to keep the conversation productive and free of judgment on both sides.
Overcome the Guilt of Moving a Parent to Senior Living
Even when moving to senior living is the right decision, caregivers may feel guilty. Visiting often and doing research can he...
Senior Respite Care: Time Off From Caregiving
Need a break from caregiving duties? Respite care can be provided in your home or at a senior living community.
Senior Rehab: Better Care Options After a Hospital Stay
After a hospital stay, senior rehab services help seniors recover at home, in assisted living, or in a skilled nursing facili...
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The cost of senior care depends on several factors, such as location and the type and frequency of services needed. For instance, the national median cost of in-home care is $30 per hour, while the median cost of memory care is $6,200 per month. Depending on an aging loved one’s needs and financial situation, payment options may include private funds, certain types of insurance, and public benefits. Before making any care decisions, make sure you understand the differences in price and the various ways to cover these costs.
Cost of Long-Term Care and Senior Living
Explore A Place for Mom's Cost of Care Report to learn about the median costs of assisted living, memory care, and more.
How to Pay for Assisted Living: A Comprehensive Guide
Go beyond retirement savings to stretch your assisted living budget. Roommates, veterans benefits, and life insurance can hel...
Long-Term Care Insurance: An In-Depth Guide to Coverage, Cost, and Providers
Long-term care insurance helps pay for care if set up in advance. Benefits paid help fund assisted living, home care, and mor...
Selling a House to Pay for Care: A Guide for Seniors and Families
Learn tips on selling your parents’ home to pay for care, when to sell, and more.
Medicare, Medicaid, and Long-Term Care
Understand the ins and outs of Medicare and Medicaid to see how you can use these programs to pay for senior care.
Using a Reverse Mortgage to Pay for Long-Term Senior Care: Pros and Cons
While using a reverse mortgage to finance senior care lets you own your home, the funds are limited and have strings attached...
Choosing the right home care agency or senior living community requires a bit of legwork, but it’s worth it. First, work with your loved one to make a list of the services and features that are most important to you both. For example, would they prefer to live in a quiet, homelike setting or a large community with a full activities calendar? Is low staff turnover and rapport with their caregivers a deal breaker? Would your loved one benefit from specialized dementia care now or in the future?
Creating this list of non-negotiables can help you identify your priorities and narrow down your options. The following guides cover everything you need to know about next steps like touring communities, interviewing caregivers, and comparing potential providers.
CHOOSING CARE
Choosing a Memory Care Facility: 10 Tips and Essential Checklist of Questions
Use these 10 expert tips and a memory care checklist to find the most suitable memory care community for a loved one with dementia.
Read the full articleAssisted Living Alternatives: Your Care Options Explained
Alternatives include home care, independent living, adult day care, care homes, monitoring devices, and more.
A State-by-State Guide to Senior Living Regulations
Find information on how your state regulates assisted living, memory care, and independent living communities.
Helping a loved one transition to their new home can be emotionally and logistically challenging. Staying organized and asking for help when needed can keep stress to a minimum. If possible, include your loved one in the process, and check in with them regularly about how they’re feeling. Use the tips and checklists below to make downsizing, packing, and decorating much easier for both of you.
MOVING
Moving to Assisted Living Checklist: Where to Start, What to Keep, and Everything in Between
Read the full articleMOVING
Key Items to Include on a Thoughtful Memory Care Packing List
The right personal items can help create a familiar and calming environment for your loved one in memory care. Read on for expert packing tips.
Read the full article7 Reasons Why Visiting Elderly Parents is Important After a Move to a Senior Living Commun...
Frequent visits can have a positive impact on your elderly parent. Visits allow you to monitor their well-being and boos...
Top 5 Tips to Help Seniors Downsize
By using the one year rule, consolidating collections, and hiring professionals, families can successfully help seniors ...
Families often focus on providing the best possible care for their loved ones, but you should get the support you need, too. Help for caregivers comes in many different forms: information, connections, products, and services. Having all the right resources can make a big difference in your own physical and mental health and your ability to help others. Browse our most popular articles on caregiving support below.
The Worrying Facts About Caregiver Health and Stress
Caring for a loved one can be rewarding, but it can also lead to burnout and poor health outcomes.
How to Talk to Someone With Dementia: 10 Expert Alzheimer’s Communication Strategies
Alzheimer's may make it difficult to talk with a loved one like you used to. These tips can help you better communicate.
The Best Apps for Senior Caregivers
Use these 9 free apps to help coordinate care, manage medication, and track symptoms.
How to Speak to Your Parent’s Doctors: Tips for Successful Communication With Your Parent ...
Learn strategies to help you speak to your loved one's doctors, define your role, and form a care team.
PAYMENT
Long-Term Care Insurance: An In-Depth Guide to Coverage, Cost, and Providers
PAYMENT
Using a Reverse Mortgage to Pay for Long-Term Senior Care: Pros and Cons
MEDICAL
Dementia and Paranoia: Triggers and Tips
PAYMENT
How to Get Paid to Be a Caregiver for Parents: Programs and Options
MEDICAL
Hip Fractures in Elderly Adults: Symptoms, Prevention, and Treatment
MEDICAL
Elderly Skin Bruising: Causes, Prevention, and When to Be Concerned
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Assisted living facilities offer housing and care for active seniors who may need support with activities of daily living, like bathing, dressing, and medication management.
The score shown is the overall experience rating which is an average of the reviews submitted for those communities. The overall experience rating is a star rating that ranges from 1 being the lowest to 5 being the highest.
Below are the 51 largest cities grouped by their metropolitan area.
Top states for Assisted Living
The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical, legal, or financial advice or create a professional relationship between A Place for Mom and the reader. Always seek the advice of your health care provider, attorney, or financial advisor with respect to any particular matter, and do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of anything you have read on this site. Links to third-party websites are only for the convenience of the reader; A Place for Mom does not endorse the contents of the third-party sites.