Assisted Living Facilities in Missouri

A Caregiver's Guide to Assisted Living Facilities in Missouri

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 or shared (up to four persons) living units (from single rooms to multiroom apartments), often with cooking facilities
• All meals, usually in a common dining area
• Supervision of healthcare
• Administration of medications
• Personal care services, including help with one or more activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, dressing, bathing
• Social and exercise activities

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

What they cost

Median monthly fees: $2,420 (higher for residents requiring memory care)

State of Missouri requirements

• Facility may contract with licensed outside agencies or individual to provide services to meet resident needs.
• A resident may engage outside agencies to provide services that aren't included in what the facility provides.
• Assessment of resident's needs, and an examination by a physician, to be made upon admission; assessment to be reviewed at least semiannually.
• Physician, pharmacist, or registered nurse must review a resident's medications at least every two months.
• Shared bathrooms and bathing facilities are permitted.

State of Missouri oversight

The Missouri state Department of Health and Senior Services, Division of Regulation and Licensure, Section for Long Term Care Regulation (573-526-8524) licenses and regulates assisted living facilities.

How to resolve problems or offer feedback

• Contact the Missouri long-term care ombudsman for the region where you live, or call the state office toll-free at 800-309-3282. This is a free service to help residents informally resolve problems with a facility.
• Rate and review assisted living facilities.

How to pay for assisted living in Missouri

• Most assisted living is paid for privately by the resident and/or his or her family.
• For Medicaid-eligible low-income residents whose condition would qualify them for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care, the Missouri HealthNet home and community-based services program can pay part of the cost of services provided by participating HFA facilities.
• Low-income veterans or surviving spouses of veterans may 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.