Albany Senior AdvisorWhat usually sets off a senior care search around Albany?
The most common starting points are a discharge from Albany Med, St. Peter's, Ellis, Samaritan or Saratoga Hospital, a fall, a dementia diagnosis, a family caregiver at the end of their rope, or savings running low.
Each guide below begins at that moment and lays out the steps in order, with the New York rules and local phone numbers that apply.
Who can help us work out the next step for free?
Every county Office for the Aging gives free help (Albany County: (518) 447-7198), NY Connects answers statewide at 1-800-342-9871, and a senior advisor can walk through licensed options; none of them charges families.
If anyone is in danger, call 911. Suspected abuse or neglect of an adult living at home goes to the county's Adult Protective Services.
What if our situation isn't one of these?
Work from three questions: which daily tasks can your parent no longer do safely, is help needed at night, and what can the budget sustain for two to three years.
Those answers usually point to one or two New York license types, and the directory then shows which licensed providers are near you.
Situations: every guide
When a parent is being discharged from a Capital Region hospital
What to do when a parent is discharged from Albany Medical Center, St. Peter's, Ellis, Samaritan, Saratoga or Glens Falls Hospital and cannot safely go straight home.
Open the guide →When a parent can no longer live alone
Signs that an aging parent in Albany or the Capital Region can no longer live alone safely, how to start the conversation, and the care options New York licenses.
Open the guide →After a dementia diagnosis in the Capital Region
What Albany-area families should do after a parent's Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis: legal documents, driving, safety at home, memory care (SNALR) options and paying for care.
Open the guide →When the family caregiver is running out of strength
Signs of caregiver burnout and the respite, home care, adult day and residential options available to family caregivers in Albany and the Capital Region.
Open the guide →After a parent falls
What to do after an older parent falls in Albany or the Capital Region: medical evaluation, Medicare home health, home safety changes, and when assisted living makes sense.
Open the guide →When the money is running out
What happens when an Albany-area parent's savings run low in assisted living or at home: SSI, the Assisted Living Program, Medicaid nursing home coverage and home care.
Open the guide →