New Orleans Senior AdvisorWhat types of senior care are available around New Orleans?
New Orleans-area families choose among assisted living (Level 3 and 4 ARCPs), memory care (dementia programs inside ARCPs, and nursing homes), small personal care and shelter care homes (Level 1 and 2 ARCPs), nursing homes, in-home care, adult day health care and hospice.
Each guide below explains what the license allows, what it costs at Louisiana's 2025 medians, and how many licenses the state lists in the six parishes.
How do I choose the right care type?
Work from needs, not labels: daily help with a stable health picture fits an ARCP, the right level depending on how much independence and space a parent wants; intermittent nursing points to a Level 4 ARCP or home health; continuous nursing points to a nursing home.
Our comparisons put two options side by side, and the situation guides start from what just happened.
Which care types do Medicare or Louisiana Medicaid pay for?
Medicare pays for short skilled nursing stays after a qualifying hospital admission, intermittent home health and hospice; Louisiana Medicaid pays for nursing home care and, for people who qualify, for care at home through LT-PCS, the Community Choices Waiver, the ADHC Waiver and PACE, but not for ARCPs.
VA Aid and Attendance can help veterans and surviving spouses with any of these costs, including an ARCP.
Care types guides
Assisted living
Assisted living in Louisiana means Level 3 and 4 adult residential care providers: apartments, personal care, medication help and, at Level 4 only, intermittent nursing. Costs, payers and what to check.
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Memory care
Memory care in Louisiana: specialized dementia care programs inside ARCPs (R.S. 40:1101.2), with disclosure to LDH, written criteria, Fire Marshal-approved locks and yearly training, plus when a nursing home fits.
Read →Personal care homes
Louisiana's Level 1 personal care homes (2-8 residents) and Level 2 shelter care homes (9-16) are small ARCPs licensed by LDH. What they provide, who they suit and how to check them in the New Orleans area.
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Nursing homes
Nursing homes in the New Orleans area: how OAAS level of care and admission work, what CMS star ratings mean, Louisiana's 2025 cost medians and how Medicaid pays.
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In-home care
In-home care in the New Orleans area: Medicare home health, private personal care (about $26/hour), Louisiana Medicaid's LT-PCS and Community Choices Waiver, and adult day health care.
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Hospice
Hospice in the New Orleans area: who qualifies, what Medicare covers, care at home, in an ARCP or nursing home, and how to choose among LDH-licensed hospices.
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