How can I find a nursing home that is more like a home setting and not and institution?

As far as I know, you have to research and visit facilities, unless you are fortunate enough to have someone recommend a facilitiy. Most of my research was on the internet and endless visits to facilities. It is worth the effort. Good luck to you and hope you find what you are looking for.

I live in the greater New Orleans area and there are two entities that have small homes for seniors. The names are Fidelis and Serenity. My mother is in Serenity but I believe that Fidelis may be a national brand. In my mom's home there are only 10 residents. We found out about Serenity by word of mouth but Fidelis is prominently advertised in our area. Good luck!

Hannah - Poydras Home & St Anna's are also excellent in the NOLA area and most residents bring their own furniture. They are both local and not a part of a for-profit NH chain. My MIL was in Maison Hospitalie in the FQ before K and it had a series of small apts that overlooked the patio as well as the more traditional NH wing. It did not reopen after K and most of those residents went to St Anna's.

Thanks for this info. Mom has a private room with her own furniture at Serenity, too. The difficulty we have right now is planning for longer term care for her. So many assisted living facilities in our area are private pay with a $ 4,000 - $ 6,000/month price tag. The ones that accept Medicare tend to be the larger ones. She was in one of those and we took her out to put her in Serenity which is more like a home. She was overwhelmed at the larger place because she wears hearing aids and has macular degeneration. With such sensory deprivation it was difficult for her to interact with so many hallways, people, etc.

Hannah, is adult foster care not an option at this point?

I am not familiar with adult foster care. Do you know where I can find out more information on this topic?

Hannah go an look at St Anna's. It's on Prytania in the LGD, for me, it's more cozy than Poydras, some of the caregivers have been there forever and are really dedicated to the residents. Did you look at Woldenberg Village? - I think they have smaller clustered units over there for Alz residents.

Thanks. I check them all out.

I hope all these answers help octavia 4701. Don't know what area you are in but perhaps this gives you some ideas.

Hugs to all!

Strange to find so many from NOLA here. I'm in the process of moving my dad to NOLA and trying to evaluate if he will "fit" in assisted living or have to go in a memory care unit, or a full, skilled nursing unit. ARCH -- Alzheimer's Residential Care Homes may be an option. I believe they exist throughout the US. I found it through a geriatric social worker who gave me a list of the homes in NOLA. Google ' "your city" geriatric social worker', or call your local AARP chapter. Some adult day care programs may also be able to help you. Hospitals may also be a source of elder care facilities.

I'm finding that the assisted living programs all hire "medicine services" to dispense meds to the residents. That adds another $3-400 per month to the cost of assisted living places.