Small residential care homes
A licensed assisted living residence in an ordinary house, usually with 16 beds or fewer. Same license, very different feel.
This is probably the right level when
Your parent would be overwhelmed by a big community, or you want a small number of staff who know them well.
What it costs
Roughly $3,500 to $6,500 a month in Colorado, sometimes less than a large community.
What it is
A house in a residential street, run as a licensed care home. Residents have bedrooms, share the living room and kitchen, and eat together at one table.
Colorado licenses these exactly as it licenses a 150-bed community, and inspects them the same way. The difference is scale, not oversight.
What families like about them
The same two or three caregivers, every day. Food cooked in a kitchen rather than a commercial one. Quiet. For someone who finds a big building bewildering, this often works far better.
What to watch for
Fewer staff means less cover when someone is out sick or on vacation. Ask who covers, and what happens at night.
There are usually no organized activities in the way a large community runs them, and less on-site nursing. Ask what happens if your parent needs more help than the house can give.
Questions worth asking on a tour
- Who is awake and on duty overnight?
- What happens when the usual caregiver is sick or on vacation?
- How many residents live here now, and how many need two-person help?
- Who cooks, and can you manage my parent’s diet?
- May I see the last state inspection report?
How families pay for it
- Private pay, and often a little less than a comparable large community.
- Many small homes are Medicaid-certified — our search can filter for those.
- Long-term care insurance usually covers them, because they are licensed assisted living.