Assisted Living Facilities in Florida

A Caregiver's Guide to Assisted Living Facilities in Florida

What they're called

Official name: Assisted Living Facilities

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)
• All 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 memory loss (most facilities)
• Some facilities: A special extended congregate care license allows more extensive ADL assistance and nursing services to frail residents.
• Some facilities: A special limited nursing services license allows extra nursing services.

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

What they cost

Median monthly fees: $2,662.50 (higher for residents with Alzheimer's or other dementia)

State of Florida requirements

• Residents may receive nursing or other health care services from an outside home health agency, hospice agency, or private duty nurse.
• Provide a medical examination report of each resident's condition and care needs upon move-in.
• No facility restrictions on over-the-counter medications.

State of Florida oversight

The Florida state Agency for Health Care Administration (850-412-4304) licenses and regulates assisted living facilities.

How to resolve problems or offer feedback

• Contact the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration by filling out an online complaint form or by phone, toll-free, at 888-419-3456.
• Contact the Florida Long Term Care Ombudsman program online or by phone at 888-831-0404.
• Rate and review assisted living facilities.

How to pay for assisted living in Florida

• Most assisted living is paid for privately by the resident and/or his or her family.
• For certain low-income residents with few assets, the Florida Assisted Living for the Elderly (ALE) program pays part of monthly fees at a participating facility. The ALE program doesn't pay for room and board but does pay a set amount for care services. The family of a resident who qualifies for ALE may pay some or all of the cost of room and board without affecting the resident's program eligibility. Not all assisted living facilities participate in ALE, and those that participate usually limit it to a small number of their living units.
• 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.