Everything You Need to Know About Assisted Living in Sacramento

Navigating the "assisted living" maze can be challenging. The good news is that there are more than 200 properties in the area, from small homes to large 100+ apartment buildings. The bad news is that they are expensive. Pricing rarely starts below $2,000 and can go over $6,000 per month.

Let’s first start with the basics. Assisted living communities are residential properties that deliver non-medical care focused on Activities of Daily Living and/or memory support. They are licensed by the State of California’s Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing (“CCL”). This agency is responsible for ensuring these communities are safe and secure. CCL’s database lists 200+ licensed communities in Sacramento. There are four types of properties offer these assisted living services in Los Angeles: Board and Care Home, Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities.
Board and Care Homes are single family homes spread throughout the area. Pros: They are usually more budget friendly, have an intimate setting, and have higher staff to resident ratios (industry average 1:6). Cons: They do not have amenities, much socialization opportunities, or fine dining services.
Assisted Living Communities are purpose built properties often appearing to be a large apartment complex from the outside. Pros: They have many amenities, robust social programing and therapies, and typically offer better dining experiences. Cons: They are expensive and often have lower staff to resident ratios (industry average 1:16).
Memory Care Communities are either purpose built properties or wings within Assisted Living communities. Most large Assisted Living communities have Memory Care wings which offer 20-30 private and shared rooms to seniors. Pros: They typically have staff training in Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving, and have higher staff to resident ratios (sometimes as low as 1:5). Cons: They are very expensive and not all “training” is equal.
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs or LifeCare) communities are purpose built properties meant to care for seniors when they are more independent. The concept was created to enable a new way to “age in place”. These properties have different living options that support seniors at a healthier stage all the way through very high levels of care (including medical needs). Pros: They offer a new “age in place” solution. Cons: They are very expensive with initial buy-in fees in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
As I said, the good news is that there are a lot of options out there. The challenging part is finding a community within your budget and/or making a decision on the type of community that best fits your needs. I’ll write another article on finding communities within your budget, but the two most effective options are to expand your search radius and/or consider a shared room in one of these communities. In terms figuring out what type of community works for you, the best way to experience it is to take tours. In fact, most families tour 3-5 properties before making a decision. You can always try a community temporarily through short-term stays (typically 2-4 weeks).
So there you have it. Everything you need to get started with your search process for Assisted Living in Sacramento. I know that making these decisions can be tough. Especially when you are looking for a parent. Rest assured that many of these properties are a far cry away from the modern connotation of nursing homes. Give it a chance. To learn more about Assisted Living in Sacramento, check out Seniorly.com.