Alaska Assisted Living and Senior Care Resource

Sparsely populated Alaska has the fewest nursing homes of any state. But it also has the highest percentage of top-rated facilities. Thirty-three percent of Alaska’s nursing homes get five stars overall from Medicare, as of this writing. A nursing home room, however, will cost you about three times the national average—the most expensive in the country.

 

Approximate number of facilities:

• Nursing homes: 15
• Assisted living residences: 229*

 

Types of care available:

• Adult day care
• Home care
• Home health-care
• Continuing-care retirement communities
• Assisted living homes
• Residential care homes (adult foster care, adult residential care)
• Nursing homes

 

Estimated average prices:**

• Adult day care: $91 per day
• Home care: $23 per hour
• Home health-care: $25 per hour
• Assisted living: $4,297 per month
• Nursing home, semi-private room: $644 per day
• Nursing home, private room: $640 per day

 

State websites for seniors:

• Senior Citizens Vehicle Registration
• Assisted Living Licensing Program (scroll down for resources)
• Guide to Assisted Living Home Regulations and Statutes, April 6, 2002 (PDF download)

 

Where to report elder abuse:

• In domestic/community care: 1-800-478-9996
• In nursing homes: 1-800-730-6393

 

Government financial assistance:

• Medicaid
• Medicare Information Office (including counseling)
• Adult Public Assistance
• Senior Benefits
• General Relief Assistance
• Heating Assistance
• Food Stamps
• National Family Caregiver Support Programs in Alaska
• Nursing Facility Transition Program
• Personal Care Assistance Program

 

Top-10 largest cities:

• Anchorage
• Juneau
• Fairbanks
• Sitka
• Ketchikan
• Kenai
• Kodiak
• Bethel
• Wasilla
• Barrow

 

Top nursing homes, based on Medicare ratings:***

 

Ketchikan
Ketchikan General Hospital

 

Nome
Quyanna Care Center

 

Petersburg
Petersburg Medical Center

 

Sitka
Sitka Community Hospital

 

Valdez
Providence Valdez Medical Center

 

*Assisted-living residence numbers are from the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2007 Residential Care and Assisted Living Compendium. According to the National Center for Assisted Living, this is the industry’s only resource for such data. Depending on the state, the number may or may not include small residential-care homes, such as adult foster care.

**Senior-care price estimates are based on the 2011 MetLife Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs, which reports average rates,and the Genworth 2011 Cost of Care Survey, which reports median rates.

***Medicare rates nursing homes in four categories using a five-star system. These are the nursing homes with five stars in the “Overall” category. The ratings were accessed on Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare site in November or December 2011 and are subject to change. The Medicare ratings system isn’t perfect, so use additional criteria to evaluate nursing homes as well.