$2,700
47 Assisted Living Communities in Polk County, Florida
The average cost of assisted living in the county is $2,808 a month. This guide is a starting point covering the cost of assisted living care in the county, as well as financing options to pay for it. You’ll find in-depth information on 47 Assisted Living Communities in Polk County and several in surrounding areas.
- Assisted living: $2,808
- Nursing home semiprivate room: $8,304
- In-home care: $3,337
- Adult day health services: $1,365
Our Family Advisors can help your family make a confident decision about senior living.
Reviews of Assisted Living Facilities in Polk County
Jill, patient
1
|
December 19, 2022
1. Lights take 45-60 min to answer. If you need immediate help this is unsafe 2. Pct argue with you if they don’t agree with your request for help 3. Some Pct say they don’t know how to do what you ask and they have to get the nurse which they don’t so you wait more 4. Rehab staff superb 5. Had pct bring in kitchen helper into my room to help provide nursing care
Happy Tenant
5
|
October 12, 2022
I have lived at Stone Crest for 4 years. It is a wonderful place for a senior citizen to live. There are a lot of activities that you can take part in. The administration has made many changes with the living areas, and are working on updating the apartments. All of the employees are kind, knowledgeable, and always willing to help. My family is very pleased with my living here, I would recommend Stone Crest to everyone.
Helen
4
|
April 5, 2022
It\'s been a couple years since I was there and my experience was pretty good. I was there for a month. It was clean and tiidy. I would go back if it. Was nessery.
Good Daughter
5
|
August 8, 2021
We recently moved our mother to Ansley Parke. The staff has been wonderful as our mother transitions to a smaller living space. She now has 3 good meals available to her each day and no longer grabs a granola bar because it\'s easy. We can rest knowing there is always a staff person available if our mother needs assistance for any reason. I live out of state and my mother didn\'t want to leave her friends and other family members. This is a good solution.
Vicki
5
|
April 20, 2021
I went to Edencrest at Beaverdale twice, and I absolutely love that place. It is fantastic. What I liked the most was the environment. It was very friendly, very clean, very personable, and I thought the staff that I met was very welcoming, as were some of the people that lived there. The dining area was very open, bright, spacious, and welcoming too. They have a beauty salon, a library, a workout room, and lots of sitting areas where you can just sit quietly and read a book throughout the place. They have a room with a pool table in it, and a room for crafts and other activities. They also have happy hours twice a week, a big aquarium to look at, and a fireplace. It's beautiful.
Gordon
5
|
April 9, 2021
We did a tour this morning at Illahee Hills and it was fantastic. It's a really, really nice place with great people. The apartment that they showed us is going to be perfect for my mother-in-law. It was a studio apartment, a big unit with windows on two walls, and a nice balcony that goes all the way around three sides of the apartment. It has all new carpet too. They provide three meals and two snacks a day, and all kinds of different programs. For activities, they have quite a long list. They have art classes, poker or casino nights, book clubs, and card circles. Once they get free of the COVID thing, they will start having outside tours again. They also have physical fitness. I would love to move there myself if I was a single man at this point in my life. They have a beauty salon, a library, and just about everything you'd want. They also have a nice dining room and lounging areas. They observe social distancing in the dining room or they can bring the meals to the rooms if you want. We drive by Illahee several times a week so we're very familiar with the neighborhood; our daughter lives in that neighborhood. It's a well-kept place. We're going back to have lunch there and take my mother-in-law there so she can see the apartment and the facility to see how she likes it too. Denise, the staff member that we met, was superb. The place has nice big wide hallways, very open, it wasn't dark, every room had lots of light. It was a very pleasant nice to be.
William
5
|
April 7, 2021
Azalea Park is a comfortable, homey, welcoming type of place. The staff is friendly and helpful. My sister is in a studio apartment there. She's somewhat in isolation for the first week; they have to make sure she is OK. They have a beauty salon for her and they have activities like bingo. For visitations, they have this little kiosk when you come in, you check in on a little touch screen, and you're good to go. My sister seems to be happy with the food.
Mona
4
|
March 18, 2021
We went to Savannah Court of Lakeland. The girl in charge was very, very friendly, she even followed up with a phone call. She took us and showed us the whole building. They're all studios, and they have a courtyard in the center, and every one of the studios around the courtyard has access to the courtyard. They have a door right out to the courtyard. We did like Savannah Court; we liked the way it was arranged. The building is not as new, and not as nice as some of the others.
ReviewerRD0120c
4
|
February 15, 2021
My mom is now in Bickford of West Des Moines. They have been really good with this pandemic. They have six visiting slots a day. They had one person checked in recently that was tested positive, so they quarantined him immediately. However, my mom's level of care is going up, so it's getting more expensive. They got a new activity director there who has all kinds of new ideas. They have been doing better getting my mom out and involved. She is encouraged and she gets out and does things. Overall, we're happy, but it is just getting more pricey. She is 91 and needs help. West Des Moines is very homey and well decorated. It has a living room area with a fireplace. There is a lot of seating. It is one level and it is a big square. They have a memory unit on the back, so there is security. There is a courtyard in the middle. They have lots of activities. I have eaten there a couple of times, and the food is a disappointment. It doesn't seem to have improved much. The nurses are very attentive. I can communicate with her, email her and call her at any time. I get immediate responses. However, like any other place, they have a fair amount of turnover.
Map of Polk County, Florida
Assisted Living Costs in Polk County
According to Genworth’s 2018 Cost of Care study, assisted living costs in Polk County are lower than the state average of $3,500 and the national average of $4,000. By comparison, assisted living costs in nearby areas, such as Orlando ($3,275) and Tampa ($3,275), are higher, while the price of assisted living in The Villages ($5,031) is nearly double the cost of assisted living in Polk County.
Note: Senior care cost data wasn’t available for Polk County, so data for Lakeland, a city located in Polk County, was used here.
Polk County/Lakeland area
$2,808
National average
$4,000
State average
$3,500
Tampa
$3,250
Sebring
$3,038
Tallahassee
$4,339
Gainesville
$3,775
Ocala
$3,275
Orlando
$3,275
Care Cost Comparison
The cost of senior care is largely based on the type of care, the location and what’s included in the price. In Polk County the price of nursing home care is nearly three times the price of assisted living. In-home senior care services, such as a home health aide or homemaker, also cost more than assisted living. When comparing the cost of different senior care options it’s important to consider daily living expenses such as utility payments, food and home maintenance, which are generally included with residential senior care in an assisted living facility. Cost of Homemaker/Home Health Aide Comparison Chart
- Assisted living: $2,808
- Homemaker services: $3,337
- Home health aide: $3,432
- Adult day health: $1,365
- Nursing home care (semiprivate room): $8,304
Cost of Homemaker/Home Health Aide Comparison Chart
Assisted living
$2,808
Homemaker services
$3,337
Home health aide
$3,432
Adult day health
$1,365
Nursing home care (semiprivate room)
$8,304
Financial Assistance for Assisted Living in Polk County
Medicaid in Florida
Medicaid is a national health insurance program designed to provide limited health care coverage to low-income, low-asset Americans of all ages. It’s jointly funded by the federal and state governments. In Florida, Medicaid is administered through the Florida Department of Children and Families by the Agency for Health Care Administration.
In order to qualify for free Medicaid coverage, the maximum monthly income for Florida seniors aged 65 or older is $2,313 for an individual and $4,626 for a couple applying together. This includes income from wages, pensions, alimony and investment interest.
Medicaid also limits the assets seniors can own to $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. Countable assets include on-hand cash and bank account balances, bonds, stocks and all real estate except for the applicant’s principal residence, valued at no more than $585,000.
It’s also important to note that Florida Medicaid applicants are subject to a 5-year look-back period. Any assets that the applicant sold or gave away during the 5-year period prior to their Medicaid application may be assessed, and the State of Florida may impose a transfer penalty in the form of a period of Medicaid ineligibility. The look-back clause is designed to ensure Medicaid funding is only used in cases where no other funds are available to support an applicant’s care costs.
Seniors in Florida who qualify for free Medicaid coverage and require care services normally found in a nursing home may be eligible for extra support services through the Florida Statewide Managed Care, Long-Term Care Program, or SMMC LTC. This state-run program aims to reduce or prevent nursing home placement of seniors by funding medically necessary care services in an assisted living setting.
Eligibility for service through the SMMC LTC program is determined by the Comprehensive Assessment and Review for Long-Term Care Services (CARES), a federally mandated screening program. A designated registered nurse or physician will review the CARES assessment and make a needs-based recommendation for each senior who applies to the program.
Seniors who are approved for the SMMC LTC program may be assigned a range of services such as:
- Attendant care
- Homemaker
- Adult day health care
- Skilled and intermittent nursing
- Transportation
- Medication administration and management
- Speech, respiratory, occupational or physical therapy
- Medical supplies and equipment
To learn more about Florida Medicaid for seniors and the SMMC LTC program, contact the Polk County Elder Helpline at (800) 336-2226 or the Agency for Health Care Administration at (877) 711-3662.
Other Financial Assistance Programs for Assisted Living
Optional State Supplementation
Florida seniors aged 65 and older who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and are unable to live independently as a result of mental and/or physical deterioration may be eligible for financial assistance towards the room-and-board portion of assisted living costs under the Florida Optional State Supplementation (OSS) program.
This SSI benefit provides up to $78.40 for an individual and up to $156.80 for a couple who receive SSI and reside in an assisted living facility. Note that higher OSS payments may be available for seniors who live in a residential mental health facility, and OSS benefits are not available to seniors on Medicaid.
For more information on the Florida OSS program call ACCESS Florida at (866) 762-2237 or the Polk County Elder Helpline at (800) 336-2226.
Veterans Aid and Attendance and Housebound Benefits
Veterans and their survivors who are eligible to receive a regular VA pension and are either housebound or require daily assistance from another person due to a disability may qualify for pension top-up funds through the Aid and Attendance and Housebound program.
In order to qualify for Housebound benefits, applicants must have a VA disability rating of 100 percent and be largely confined to their home as a result of their disability.
To qualify for the Aid and Attendance benefits, at least one of the following criteria must be met:
- Be bedridden
- Have corrected eyesight of 5/200 or worse in both eyes
- Suffer from concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 or fewer degrees
- Require daily assistance from a caregiver to complete any task of daily living such as eating, bathing, dressing or toileting
- Live in a nursing home due to mental or physical impairment
Note that applicants may only receive benefits from one of these two programs, and these pension top-ups are not available to veterans who already receive a VA disability pension.
To apply for the Aid and Attendance and Housebound Benefits contact the Lakeland Vet Center at (863) 284-0841.
Assisted Living Bridge Loans
Seniors who are either selling their homes or awaiting benefit approval to fund their move to an assisted living facility may qualify for an assisted living bridge loan through Elderlife Financial.
Available in terms up to 12 months, funds from these loans can be accessed through a line of credit with interest-only monthly payments. Applications are free and can be completed over the phone, and a response is usually provided by the lender within 24 hours.
To learn more about assisted living bridge loans call Elderlife Financial at (888) 228-4500.
Reverse Mortgages
Senior couples aged 62 and older who are homeowners may qualify for a reverse mortgage to generate funds for use towards assisted living costs. This option is only available when one spouse requires an assisted living placement and the other spouse plans to remain in the couple’s home.
Funds provided through a reverse mortgage can also be used to pay for home maintenance, debt consolidation and daily expenses.
To learn more about reverse mortgages, contact Elderlife Financial at (888) 228-4500.
Senior Centers in Polk County
Seniors in Polk County can participate in wide variety of social, educational and fitness programs at area senior centers. These senior centers also host special events, low-cost meal programs and medical screening clinics for seniors.
Winter Haven Senior Adult Center
250 South Lake Silver Drive Northwest, Winter Haven, FL 33381
(863) 291-5870
Lakeland Actity Center for Seniors – Catholic Charities of Central Florida
1510 Commercial Park Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801
(863) 687-2988
Resources for Veterans
Veterans can contact the Lakeland Veteran Center for information about benefits, including survivors pensions and disability claims. The Lakeland CBOC VA Outpatient Clinic provides primary health care services and referrals to the VA Medical Center in Tampa. There are also three branches of the American Legion in Polk County and two Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts where veterans can socialize and participate in weekly events.
Lakeland CBOC VA Outpatient Clinic
4237 South Pipkin Road, Lakeland, FL 33811-1442
(863) 701-2470
Lakeland Veteran Center
1370 Ariana Street, Lakeland, FL 33803
(863) 284-0841
Nearby Assisted Living Communities
Go a bit further out to explore pricing and amenities.
$3,275
Pricing not available
$4,344
Find Communities
Senior Homes has an extensive directory of senior living options, with care and living providers across the United States.
Nearby Assisted Living Facilities
- Twin Creeks
- Promise Pointe at Tampa Oaks
- American House Zephyrhills
- Savannah Court of Brandon
- The Crossings at Riverview
- The Canopy at Walden Woods
- Jovyia Comfort Home ALF
- Patty's House #2
- Patty's House #3
- Gardens of Westbrooke
- Aldea Green
- The Meridian at Brandon - Now Open!
- Legacy at Highwoods Preserve
- Crowell Adult Family Home Care
- Elderly Love Inc.
Compare Costs, Photos, & Reviews of All Your Options Near Polk County
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