Assisted Living Facilities in Connecticut

A Caregiver's Guide to Assisted Living Facilities in Connecticut

What they're called

Official name: Assisted Living Services Agencies, in Managed Residential Communities

Common name: Assisted living facilities

To compare assisted living to board and care, skilled nursing, and other long-term residential care communities, see Residential Care Options: How to Decide.

What they offer

• Individual living units (from single rooms to multiroom apartments with kitchen; some facilities have shared living units)
• Meals, usually in a common dining area
• Medication management
• Personal care services: assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, dressing, and bathing
• Social and exercise activities
• Special care programs for residents with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia (most facilities)

Note: Some facilities also offer respite care and other special services.

What they cost

Median monthly fees: $4,487.50 (higher for residents requiring memory care)

State of Connecticut requirements

• Assisted living services agencies must be state licensed, but the managed residential community itself is not licensed.
• "Client service program" (plan of resident care) must be completed by an agency's registered nurse upon admission and updated as resident's condition and needs change.
• No state regulation of move-in or discharge policies; however, facility must have a written policy.
• Facility may contract with outside home healthcare agency to provide some services to residents.

State of Connecticut oversight

Department of Public Health, Facility Licensing and Investigations Section (860-509-7400) licenses and regulates assisted living services agencies.

How to resolve problems or offer feedback

• Contact the Connecticut Long-Term Care ombudsman at 866-388-1888
• To file a complaint, contact the Facility Licensing and Investigations Section, Connecticut Department of Public Health at 860-509-7400
• Rate and review assisted living facilities.

How to pay for assisted living in Connecticut

• Most assisted living is paid for privately, by the resident and/or his or her family.
• For certain low-income Connecticut residents with few assets, a Medicaid home and community-based services "waiver" program pays for some of the cost of services from an assisted living services agency.
• Low-income veterans or surviving spouses of veterans may also be eligible for Aid and Attendance or other payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which can help pay for assisted living.
• Some assisted living facilities offer sliding scale fees, making a higher level of care available to families that might not otherwise be able to afford it. Be sure to ask -- or ask a geriatric care manager in the area if he or she knows which facilities offer sliding scale fees.

Help finding and choosing a facility

• Hire a geriatric care manager (most have extensive local knowledge about assisted living facilities in a particular geographic area, including space availability, resident needs assessments, sliding scale fees, and resident satisfaction). To find a geriatric care manager, see Caring.com's Senior Living Directory.
• For details about assisted living facilities in each of the 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, see A Caregiver's Guide to Assisted Living Facilities.