Assisted Living, Senior Care & Aging Parents in Utah

Utah is one of only two states with less than 10 percent of residents who are 65 or older. (Alaska is the other). But Utahns enjoy relatively low assisted living prices—among the lowest in the Southwest. Things don’t look so good with nursing homes. Only 8 percent of Utah’s facilities have earned five stars from Medicare in the “overall” category, as of this writing. That’s the third lowest percentage in the nation.

 

Approximate number of facilities:

• Nursing homes: 100
• Assisted living residences: 151*

 

Types of care available:

• Adult day care
• Home care
• Home health-care
• Continuing-care retirement communities
• Assisted living facilities (including residential care homes)
• Adult foster care
• Nursing homes

 

Estimated average prices:**

• Adult day care: $51 per day
• Home care: $20 per hour
• Home health-care: $22 per hour
• Assisted living: $ 2,709 per month
• Nursing home, semi-private room: $161 per day
• Nursing home, private room: $196 per day

 

State websites for seniors:

• Kane County Senior Citizens
• Health Facility Licensing, Certification and Resident Assessment
• Administrative code for assisted living facilities

 

Where to report elder abuse:

• In domestic/community care: 1-800-371-7897
• In nursing homes: 1-800-371-7897

 

Financial assistance (partial list):

• Medicaid
• Health Insurance Information Program

 

Top-10 largest cities:

•  Salt Lake City
•  West Valley City
•  Provo
•  Sandy
•  Orem
•  Ogden
•  West Jordan
•  Layton
•  Taylorsville
• St. George

 

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

 

Brigham City
Alpine Transitional Rehabilitation Center

 

Orem
Orchard Park Care Center
Stonehenge of Orem

 

Provo
Country View Manor

 

St. George
Coral Desert Rehabilitation Center

 

Salt Lake City
Emeritus at Salt Lake
Majestic Care and Rehabilitation Center

 

West Valley City
Hazen Nursing Home

 

*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.