Find Assisted Living Communities Near Madison, WI

When you’re paying for assisted living in Madison, you have both private and public funding options at your disposal — and many families rely on a mixture of both to fund a loved one’s stay. Payment options include private funding, assistance from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or Medicare and Medicaid coverage.

Here, we’ll run through the specifics of each option to help you land on the right choice.

Because they’re classified as residential care apartment complexes, community-based residential facilities, or adult family homes by the state, Madison’s assisted living facilities fall under the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Division of Quality Assurance and are expected to be licensed.

Assisted living inspections

The Bureau of Assisted Living (BAL) is specifically responsible for inspecting all these assisted living facilities, and the inspections may be announced or unannounced. Facilities are surveyed every two years and are graded in these areas:

• Patient rights
• Program services
• Types of services offered (e.g., nutrition)
• Physical environment and overall safety
• Medication
• Staff training

Staff and residents are observed or interviewed, and records are reviewed to ensure compliance. All surveys include safety code reviews, which look at several environmental safety factors, such as fire safety, evacuation rules, storage of hazardous materials, and required inspections.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services website features a comprehensive list of resources to help identify whether a facility is operating compliantly, including details about the caregiver background check process, certification status, how residents should be transported from assisted living facilities to hospitals, and much more.

If you want to check the compliance history of an assisted living facility or see if it has any complaints against it, reach out to the DQA Bureau of Assisted Living Regional Offices. You can also use this website to do a provider search. You’ll be able to find any Statements of Deficiencies (SODs) and what was done to correct any issues.

Assisted living laws and regulations

Wisconsin’s Caregiver Law established specific programs that are designed to help professionals in the industry provide the highest quality care possible. These include:

• The Background Check and Misconduct Investigation Program: This program was established to protect individuals receiving care and treatment services in Wisconsin, including those provided in treatment facilities, assisted living settings, the home, and the community.
• The Feeding Assistant Program: Feeding assistants must take an approved training program to receive state certification. They also must meet certain requirements, such as being at least 16 years old.
• Certified Direct Care Professional: This new program (launched in early 2023) teaches essential skills that direct care workers can use in many roles. The curriculum, developed by the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, prepares job seekers to enter the caregiving workforce.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services

1 W Wilson St.
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-266-1865
Hours: Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

COVID-19 regulations for Madison assisted living facilities

Both Madison and the state of Wisconsin have suggested precautions surrounding COVID-19, but have no current mandates. The state does provide guidance for assisted living facilities.

Madison has it all: The vibrance and culture you’d expect from a college town, all the natural beauty the Badger State has to offer, and the quaint charm of a medium-sized Midwestern city.

Considering that there are also 30 assisted living options partnered with A Place for Mom within a 10-mile radius of downtown Madison, seniors can rest assured that Madison will be a top-tier place to spend their later years.

A variety of perks for any senior

Madison’s many in-network assisted living facilities offer residents a plethora of perks that will keep them healthy and engaged. Madison’s assisted living communities will provide high-quality care for residents with amenities and support such as:

• 24-hour staff availability
• On-call doctors
• On-site hospice care
• On-site nursing care
• Visiting occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist, and podiatrist
• Memory care
• Full medication management
• Catheter, colostomy, and wound care
• Oxygen
• A layout helpful for residents with memory loss

The following amenities are also typically available for vibrant seniors who enjoy leisure time and getting social with fellow residents:

• Indoor and outdoor common areas
• TV lounge
• Private dining room
• Fitness center
• Game room
• Movie or theater room
• Day trips and outings
• Live musical performances
• Trivia games
• Barbecues or picnics
• Birthday and holiday parties
• Low/no-sodium, Kosher, and vegetarian dining

All in all, Madison’s assisted living communities provide a balance of quality health-related care and the services seniors need to truly enjoy their long-term stays.

Opportunities for continuity of care

Although prospective residents can live in one of A Place for Mom’s eight partner standalone assisted living facilities, there are a wide variety of facilities in Madison that offer a combination of care types:

• 16 partner facilities combine assisted living and memory care.
• Three partner facilities combine assisted living and independent living.
• Three partner facilities combine assisted living, independent living, and memory care — a highly progressive care classification.

These wide-ranging care options can assuage seniors and families concerned about having continuity of care.

Health care for seniors in Madison

Two well-known major medical centers in Madison can provide general, geriatric, and other types of care for city residents along with the VA hospital:

Transportation for seniors in Madison

Like many other U.S. cities, Madison is best-traveled via car. Despite this, seniors in the city’s assisted living communities who don’t have their own vehicles shouldn’t worry: Madison has a variety of other transportation offerings they can take advantage of.

Public transportation in Madison

At the 30 assisted living facilities we partner with, 39% offer free transportation to residents. Another 74% offer it for a fee. But when loved ones are coming to visit or preparing to take a resident on an outing, other transportation options might be important, too.

Madison has 41 bus lines and other specialized services that can help seniors get to wherever they need to go. First, Metro Transit helps passengers travel throughout the city on accessible buses. Accessibility features include the following:

• Low floors on buses
• Deployable boarding ramps
• Buses that can lower closer to the curb
• Locations for securing wheelchairs
• Priority seating for seniors
• Audio and visual bus stop announcements

Passengers 65 and older or those living with disabilities can ride the Metro Transit for $1 if they present an Americans with Disabilities Act-approved transit card or Metro senior/disability card. At the same time, the city’s paratransit ensures that riders who can’t take advantage of fixed-route buses can get where they need to go.

Besides this, Dane County’s Group Access Service provides regularly scheduled drop-offs to sites throughout Madison. Similarly, Dane County’s Older Adult Transportation Assistance program also provides seniors with rides to important appointments or meetings. Accessible service is available.

Madison’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program offers door-to-door pickups and drop-offs for seniors needing rides to health appointments. Volunteers use personal vehicles, so rides aren’t always accessible.

The Madison Walk Score metrics below are out of 100 and indicate how easy or difficult it is to get around the city using a certain transportation method. These scores might be particularly useful for those visiting loved ones in assisted living facilities who need to make their way around the city.