Alabama is right in the middle of the map when it comes to population, but on the lower end of the scale when you measure median household income.

To that note, it’s also a very affordable place to live, with one of the lower costs of living in the country, in fact it’s significantly lower than some places.

As such, the costs of assisted living and other types of care can also be lower, especially for people who build up their funds in another state and end up moving to Alabama to retire or to seek long-term care.

We’re going to be covering everything you need to know about Alabama when it comes to assisted-living facilities in this State, including advice on what to look for, warnings on what to avoid, and what to expect as well.

Here’s an overview of what we’re going to be covering:

• The costs you can expect to pay for assisted living care in Alabama.
• The different types of care that are available.
•  Information about what is required and expected before moving into a facility.
•  How medication and treatments are managed in Alabama.
• Information about Medicaid coverage for assisted living in Alabama.

Before we dig deeper into these details and much more, let’s go over some quick facts about Alabama for people who aren’t from here, and then we’ll dig right into info about care options for you, or your loved ones, whether you’re from in-state or out.

Quick facts about Alabama:

There are numerous options available for assisted living, and we’ll go over the requirements and options in just a moment.

• Some of the biggest health concerns in Alabama include diabetes and obesity. According to the CDC, where just shy of one in three adults are considered obese. Over 10% of adults suffer from diabetes, and it’s one of the states where residents are least likely to be physically active during their leisure time.
• Due to these health concerns, it’s more common for people to suffer mobility issues and other health conditions later in life, increasing the need for quality assisted-living care to be available at a price that people can afford. It stands to reason that people who live healthier lifestyles will have an easier time and require less care later in life.
• Redstone Arsenal and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (including the hospital) are the two largest employers by far, accounting for over 40,000 of the state’s jobs.
• There is no minimum wage specific to this state, so they default to the federal minimum. We mention this because the wage of the employees in an assisted care home can certainly have an impact on the level of care (but not always), so it may be worth checking into how well the particular nurses and caregivers are compensated before choosing a facility.

Cost of Assisted Living in Alabama

The amount you can expect to pay will depend quite a bit on which city you’re going to be living in, whether it’s Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville, or another larger city or Prattville, Vestavia Hills, Madison, or another smaller city in the State. However, the costs are lower than average across the board, so we recommend starting with wherever you life or are most interested in living, and not letting the costs dictate things too much since it’s not going to vary by all that much in the grand scheme of things.

Types and Standards of Care That are Available

The type of facility, and their required licenses and such, will depend on the patient’s or resident’s needs.

In Alabama, you’ll find facilities for assisted living that offer a variety of special care types based on need, along with assistance for activities of daily living (known as ADLs.)

Facilities will need special licensing in order to care for residents with severe cognitive issues such as Alzheimer’s, and dementia. Residents and patients cannot be admitted into a facility that isn’t licensed to care for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Prior to moving into a facility, and in order to ensure that you or your loved one are moving into the correct type of facility to meet your needs of care, a medical examination and assessment is required. They will evaluate a patient’s needs,

Here are common types of care you’ll find:

It’s standard for facilities to offer general health supervision for their residents, along with having nurses available and medical attention as required. Some facilities will have more medical staff on-site than others, depending on which types of care said facilities cater to.

General grooming and hygiene including oral hygiene and bathing, hair care, and other types of personal hygiene are also common.

Medication Management in Alabama Care Facilities

For facilities licensed to support patients with dementia and other cogitative challenges, medication should be administered by a registered nurse or another healthcare professional. Other patients in other types of facilities will either self-administer their medication or have a staff member assist them. Medication is stored and held by the facilities in individual doses and dispersed as required.

What Types of Training Are Required for Staff Members?

Keeping with the common theme, the types of training required for staff members will vary depending entirely on what types of patients they’re going to be working with directly.

In special care facilities, they will need specific training about how to deal with dementia, and other conditions patients may have as needed. Each year, 6 hours of additional training are required in order to keep up to date with the latest developments, along with to go over a refresher of the more basic care requirements.

Training is very important for all staff members, in particular the ones who are going to be dealing directly with residents and patients.

You can contact the Alabama Department of Public Health for more information on specific types of care, and to learn more about an initial assessment and any other specific requirements you may need to meet before beginning care for a loved one.

Please note that assisted care is not covered under Medicaid in Alaska, however in some states these services will be covered, to varying degrees.

Before a facility can terminate care for a patient, they must provide a 30 day heads up so that new arrangements can be made.

They are only able to accept patients for whom they can meet their needs, and cannot accept residents who require around the clock nursing care for more than 45 days in a row.