Assisted Living Facilities in Rhode Island

A Caregiver's Guide to Assisted Living Facilities in Rhode Island

What they're called

Official name: Assisted Living Residences

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
• Supervision and medication management (including administration of medications in specially licensed facilities; assistance with self-administration of medications in other facilities); other health monitoring
• Temporary nursing services
• Personal care services, including help with one or more activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, dressing, and bathing
• Social and exercise activities

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

What they cost

Median monthly fees: $4,212.50 (higher for residents requiring memory care)

State of Rhode Island requirements

• A resident may receive skilled nursing care or therapy in the facility from an outside licensed healthcare provider for a temporary condition for up to 45 days.
• Prior to admission, a facility must have a registered nurse conduct an assessment of the resident's physical, social, functional, and cognitive needs and preferences.
• Bathroom facilities may be shared.

State of Rhode Island oversight

The Rhode Island Department of Health Facilities, Licensing Division (401-222-2566) licenses and regulates assisted living residences.

How to resolve problems or offer feedback

• Contact the state long-term care ombudsman, which in Rhode Island is operated by the Alliance for Better Long Term Care (401-785- 3340); this is a free service to help residents informally resolve problems with a facility.
• To register a complaint about a facility, contact the Rhode Island's Department of Health, Complaint Unit either online or by phone at 401-222-5200.
• Rate and review assisted living facilities.

How to pay for assisted living in Rhode Island

• Most assisted living is paid for privately by the resident and/or his or her family.
• For Medicaid-eligible low-income residents, the state's Medicaid and home and community based waiver programs pays part of the monthly fees for personal care services provided in 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.