Montana is a very large state, with a very low population. If you love not being surrounded by dense populations of people all the time and prefer the beauty that nature has to offer, and a reasonable cost of living with affordable care, this is a great state to consider. It doesn’t have all the hustle and bustle of states with huge coastal cities, but it has its own charm, and all the amenities you could really hope for.

From Billings, to Helena, to Great Falls, to Butte, Montana has a lot to offer if you know where to look. If you like a more laidback lifestyle, it’s probably a good fit. That doesn’t mean there aren’t big cities with all sorts of things to do and see, especially in the more dense areas where care facilities are, but there’s just something about the overall vibe here that appeals to people.

Some of the highlights and things to see are Yellowstone, Little Bighorn Battlefield, Conrad Mansion, Earthquake Lake, the Museum of the Rockies, Playmill Theater, Gates of the Mountains, and a lot more. But we’re not here to promote tourism to Montana, as easy as it is, we’re here to help educate and inform you about what this state has to offer in additional to everything we’ve mentioned, and in the context of assisted living, senior care, and memory care. None the less, if you’re already in Montana, or looking for a state to move to, we hope the following information will help you make an informed decision while you’re doing the ever-important research.

Quick Facts about Montana

• There is a lot of wildlife in Montana, in fact the average square mile of land has over three deer, almost one and half elk, and almost one and a half antelope.
• There are thousands of pelicans nesting at Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge.
• Montana has the most diverse variety of mammals in the entire country.
• Montana is ranked 4^th place when it comes to total area, with 147,040 square miles in total.
• Despite the massive size, Montana has one of the lowest populations of any state, ranking in 44^th place with 1,042,520 residents.
• The median income in Montana is $51,395.

Types of Assisted Living in Montana

Assisted living homes in Montana can help with an assortment of daily tasks, including supervision, help with medicine, helping residents make it to doctor’s appointments and the logistics like transportation, laundry, cleaning services, meals, and more.

Residents who need care for advanced conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other types of memory care will need to find a facility that is equipped to accommodate such things. There are a variety of steps the facility needs to take, and precautions they need to take. It requires a lot of additional documentation and extra attention to keep everyone safe.

Requirements for Moving in or Moving Out

Initial assessment information: An initial assessment must take place before one moves into their new home at a care facility, and must also be updated and followed up on within the first two months after the resident has moved into the facility. This follow-up ensures that they’re settling into their new home properly, and are receiving the levels of care they need. It gives an opportunity to re-assess the initial evaluation, and it’s a good strategy to accomplish the aforementioned goal.

As with any state, Montana has their own set of rules and criteria that can require a resident to have to leave the facility and seek more advanced treatment elsewhere. Generally speaking, if their medical needs worsen, or can’t be met by the facility, they’ll need to re-locate. In addition, if they are a risk to their own safety of the safety of others in the facility, if they require help with most daily tasks, if they have sever ulcers, and a variety of other issues – those are all valid reasons that the facility can ask that the resident seeks a more fitting level of care from a different facility that is equipped to provide it.

General Information About Care

Bathroom requirements: The washroom ratios in Montana aren’t the worst, but they’re certainly not the best either. They require at least one toilet for every four people living there, and that these toilets are accessible without having to enter a resident’s private living area in order to meet the ratio. Residents can still have their own toilets, depending on the layout of the facility, but those ones cannot count towards the total. Also, one bathtub or shower is all that’s required for every twelve residents, which is far less than ideal. A facility can still opt to do better than the minimum, and we applaud those that do.

Medication handling: Depending on the type of facility and the level of care they’re licensed to provide, residents will either have to administer their own medication, or have it administered by somebody that has training and the proper license to do so. This will depend on the patient’s situation, their needs, and exactly which level of facility they’re staying in.

Fire and Safety information: The NFPA standards are followed in Montana senior care and assisted living homes, that stands for the National Fire Protection Association. They offer national guidelines which include mandatory smoke detectors in all rooms where people live, and not just one smoke alarm/detector per unit, either. They’re required to have multiple smoke detectors throughout each individual unit, including in the halls, in the living room, and so on.

Staff Training and Requirements

Training is based on the needs of the residents, and which staff members will be working with whom. For example, if someone is working with patients that need help administering their medication, said staff member will need licensing and training to do so. Also, if someone is working with people that have dementia, suffer from Alzheimer’s, or require another type of memory care, then that staff member will have to undergo training specific to dealing with those conditions.

Medicaid for Assisted Living in Montana and Additional Information

Medicaid has a limited availability; however it is offered in Montana, but only to a certain amount of people. If you require assistance paying for long term assisted living care in Montana, you can get in touch with the Quality Assurance Division of the Department of Public Health and Human Services to request more information, and to learn about what types of support are currently available.