Assisted Living Facilities in New Hampshire

A Caregiver's Guide to Assisted Living Facilities in New Hampshire

What they're called

Official name: Assisted Living Residence - Supported Residential Health Care (ALR-SRHC) and Assisted Living Residence - Residential Care (ALR-RC)

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 two persons) living units (from single rooms to multiroom apartments), often with cooking facilities
• All meals, usually in a common dining area
• Nursing care, short-term rehabilitation, and management of medications in ALR-SRHCs
• Limited medical or nursing care and assistance with medications in ALR-RCs
• Personal care services, including help with one or more activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, dressing, bathing); help with all ADLs for residents in ALR-SRHCs
• Social and exercise activities

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

What they cost

Median monthly fees: $3,906 (higher for residents requiring memory care)

State of New Hampshire requirements

• In a facility that qualifies as an ALR-SRHC, a resident may remain in the facility even when needing nursing home-level care.
• In a facility that qualifies as an ALR-SRHC, a licensed outside home healthcare or hospice agency can provide services.
• In a facility that qualifies as an ALR-RC, the amount of medical or nursing care that can be provided to a resident is limited.
• Shared bathrooms and bathing facilities are permitted.

State of New Hampshire oversight

The New Hampshire state Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Operations Support, Health Facilities Administration, (603-271-4592) licenses and regulates assisted living residences.

How to resolve problems or offer feedback

• Contact the New Hampshire long-term care ombudsman at 800-442-5640. This is a free service helping residents informally resolve problems with a facility.
• File a complaint online with New Hampshire's Health Facilities Licensing Unit or by phone at 603-271-9039.
• Rate and review assisted living facilities.

How to pay for assisted living in New Hampshire

• Most assisted living is paid for privately by the resident and/or his or her family.
• For eligible low-income residents, New Hampshire's Medicaid waiver program for independent home- and community-based living pays part of the cost of services provided by participating 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.