California Assisted Living

Catholic assisted living facilities in California are dotted across the state and offer a wide range of sizes and styles, but mostly, they offer seniors the opportunity to stay committed to their faith as they enjoy the care they need to get through life’s daily challenges. There are at least 26 Catholic Assisted Living Centers, as far north as Redding, and as far south as San Diego, with most Catholic retirement communities set along the central and coastal corridors of the state. So, elderly adults won’t have to wander far from home to find a Catholic assisted living facility that will meet their spiritual and physical care needs.

Cost of Catholic Assisted Living in California

The average rates for Catholic assisted living facilities are as spread out as the centers themselves, and for the most part, they are more expensive than the average of $4,000 across the US by about $500. At the top end of California rates is St. Luis Obispo at $5,500 per month. At the opposite end is Merced, CA, right in the middle of the state, and with a monthly rate that averages just $3,175.

Catholic Assisted Living Communities in California - Amenities

Catholic Assisted living facilities are, in almost all ways, no different than any other assisted living facility, and yet, comparing them is like comparing night and day. They both provide care that allows aging adults the opportunity to live rich and reasonably active lives.  Assisted Living Communities give senior residents an opportunity to improve their physical and mental health. But Catholic assisted living facilities go a major step further by helping to keep their spiritual life healthy too which is critically important for senior residents that are committed to their faith in God.

Catholic Retirement Communities in California - Religious Amenities

In Catholic assisted living homes, it all begins with a prayer and the holy mass. Days begin by giving thanks, because in these homes faith in God is alive and well, and it’s celebrated regularly. As a community, seniors and staff will say Grace before meals. At 6:00 life pauses once again for the Angeles. And then there is the offering of the mass. In the larger homes, mass with be held in a chapel on the premises. In smaller homes, seniors will be transported to a nearby church of services. For these residents that can’t make it out, priests and lay ministers will visit them in their rooms to offer communion, and spend time praying together.

In assisted living facilities of all types, activities are designed to fill the day with interesting and fun things that keep everyone happily active. In Catholic assisted living facilities, these activities include faith related programs, bible studies, community outreach programs, and for those seniors that feel up to it, these activities can even include various types of volunteering. Seniors will also find that many in the neighboring church community will volunteer their time at the assisted living facility as well, so there is a healthy back-and-forth that strengthens the entire community.

Finally, when a seniors’ local parish and the Catholic assisted living facility share the same community, care teams will be the effort to help those seniors stay actively connected to that parish, and for some, this can help tremendously in the transition from independent living to assisted living.

Catholic senior living in California - Amenities

When seniors do come to realize that living independently is more than they can handle, it doesn’t mean they are ready to give up on living an active life. In fact, the opposite is often true. Retirees are ready to continue to enjoy life as much as they possibly can. Seniors in Assisted Living Communities just want and need a bit of help to make that happen.

Help typically takes the form of assisted daily living care (ADL’s), and that involves caregivers providing a helping hand with bathing, toileting, grooming, dressing and moving around the community as each day unfolds. Caregivers will also be ready to help seniors eat when elderly residents are too weak or unsteady to do so without some assistance.

Alzheimer’s patients require an additional level of care that is layered on top of ADL’s and involves memory care. Caregivers focus on helping seniors trigger memories while helping to control the emotional responses to memory loss that can include anxiety, frustration, and confusion. Memory care centers also provide a greater level of security that helps keep seniors from getting lost. There are also assisted living facilities with memory care units that are designed for seniors with Alzheimer and Dementia.

Living spaces in these homes are typically a mix of semi-private rooms, efficiency suites, and one-bedroom apartments. Some will also have two-bedroom, (companion), apartments available. The monthly costs will vary based on which of these arrangements is selected.

Food is an important element in these assisted living facilities as well. Seniors can expect 3 meals a day. In an assisted living facility, menus will be varied, food will either be home cooed or prepared by a professional chef and support staff, and dishes will be nutritionally balanced and appropriate for each senior. So, for those on low-salt or low-fat diets, they will still enjoy meals without the risk. Seniors will also find snacks available through most of not all of the day.

As mentioned earlier, activities are a staple of each and every day in these assisted living facilities, where faith oriented or not. Opportunities to stay engaged physically and mentally are designed to meet the varied interests of the seniors in residence and structured to help maintain or improve both physical and mental health. Activities will often include arts and crafts, music, dance, exercise, educational seminars, entertainment, in house movies, and various social activities.

Ratings for the Catholic assisted living facilities in California are generally very good, with some that are absolutely outstanding. Legacy House, with Catholic assisted living facilities across the state and beyond have earned ratings that are at or very close to perfect and they have dozens of published reviews to support that. Santa Teresita, in Duarte, CA, is another great example, with a 4.6-star rating.

California has many Catholic assisted living facilities worth considering, and they are present in most of the communities where seniors are most likely to settle into.