Assisted Living, Senior Care & Aging Parents in Louisiana

Louisiana brings good news: It has some of the cheapest home care, home health-care and nursing home rooms in the country. But there’s also bad news: Only 6 percent of its nursing homes are rated five stars overall by Medicare, as of this writing. That’s the lowest percentage in the country. (The national average is 18 percent.) Here are some tips on evaluating nursing homes.

 

Approximate number of facilities:

• Nursing homes: 280
• Assisted living residences: 123*

 

Types of care available:

• Adult day care
• Home care
• Home health-care
• Continuing-care retirement communities
• Assisted living facilities (including shelter-care homes)
• Residential care facilities (including personal-care homes)
• Nursing homes

 

Estimated average prices:**

• Adult day care: $57 per day
• Home care: $16 per hour
• Home health-care: $17 per hour
• Assisted living: $ 2,941 per month
• Nursing home, semi-private room: $138 per day
• Nursing home, private room: $147 per day

 

State websites for seniors:

• Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs
• Department of Health & Hospitals: Adult residential-care information
• Adult Residential Care Minimum Standards(PDF download)

 

Where to report elder abuse:

• In domestic/community care: 1-800-259-4990
• In nursing homes: 1-800-259-4990

 

Financial assistance (partial list):

• Medicaid
• Senior Health Insurance Information Program

 

Top-10 largest cities:

•  New Orleans
•  Baton Rouge
•  Shreveport
•  Lafayette
•  Lake Charles
•  Kenner
•  Bossier City
•  Monroe
•  Alexandria
• New Iberia

 

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

 

Baton Rouge
Landmark of Baton Rouge

 

Breaux Bridge
St. Agnes Healthcare and Rehab Center

 

Bunkie
Bayou Vista Community Care Center

 

Covington
Christwood

 

Harvey
West Jefferson Health Care Center

 

Jennings
Jennings Guest House

 

Lafayette
Bethany MHS Health Care Center
Lady of the Oaks Retirement Manor

 

Lutcher
Riverlands Community Care Center

 

Kinder
Kinder Retirement and Rehabilitation Center

 

Marksville
Valley View Health Care

 

New Orleans
Good Samaritan Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
Lafon Nursing Facility of the Holy Family
St. Luke’s Living Center

 

Port Allen
Port Allen Care Center

 

Reserve
Southeast Louisiana War Veterans Home

 

Shreveport
Village Health Care at the Glen

 

West Monroe
Ridgecrest Community Care 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.