8 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Fort Dodge, IA

Fort Dodge, Iowa

Assisted Living

Assisted living communities provide residential communities and aid to seniors who may need help with self-administering medication or showering. The services offered often include assistance with ADLs. Residents may be kept under observation and evaluation. Under certain circumstances, communities may provide “aging in place”, Alzheimer’s care, or respite. In Iowa, the annual median cost for an assisted living community is around $48,933 . The state of Iowa maintains a number of provisions associated with this type of community. The Department of Inspections and Appeals, Health communities Division licenses this community type. This community has a number of provisions concerning food and diet which include a licensed dietitian must be available to write and approve the therapeutic menu, all meals must follow recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board, a healthcare provider must review food preparation and service procedures, and communities must provide hot meals at least once a day. Staff must obtain training in a variety of areas. These areas include fire safety, emergency procedures, assisted living management or nursing course, and accident. Public assistance is available through Medicaid 1915(c) Elderly Waiver program. Before a resident is accepted, they must go through a service plan screening to guarantee their needs are going to be met. This screening includes a number of areas of interest such as a comprehensive mental and physical assessment, a multidisciplinary team must be involved in service planning when residents require personal care or health-related services, and negotiated risk agreement. This community type has a number of provisions pertaining to medication assistance. These provisions include medications may be administered by community staff, packaging at the resident’s direction, and opening containers. There must be one toilet for every 1 residents and one bath or shower for every 1 residents. This type of community is required to have a staff member on duty 24 hours a day. The minimum number of residents for this community type is 3. This type of community is required to offer a number of services. These include health-related services, resident access to a 24-hour personal emergency response system, assistance with activities of daily living, and assistance with personal care.

Demographics and Values

In Fort Dodge, 8.3% of the citizens are veterans. In Fort Dodge, 7.5% consider themselves widows, 6.3% do not have health insurance, 57.4% participate in the labor force, and 16.3% have some form of disability. In terms of education, 6.4% have a graduate degree, 21.8% have a college degree, and 32.7% have a high-school diploma. Based on gender, 48.4% are female and 51.6% are male. The median age of Fort Dodge is 37 years old. Fort Dodge has a population density of 584 people per square mile. Currently, the population of Fort Dodge consists of 24,223 people and in total the Fort Dodge metro area has a population of 24,305. Racially, the population of Fort Dodge is 6.6% black, 0.0% Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 0.3% Native American, 1.5% mixed race, 1.9% Asian, 89.3% white, 0.5% other or not specified, and 5.5% Hispanic.

Cost of Living

The neighborhood in which a care community is located might have a huge influence on the total price. Cost of living can be a motivating factor when choosing which community works for you or your loved one’s needs. Per month, the median cost of rent in Fort Dodge is around $702 per month and the median home value in Fort Dodge is about $89,527. The rent burden for Fort Dodge is about 16.6% of the average person’s monthly income.

State Information

An overview of Iowa

Out of a national average of 100, Iowa has a cost of living index rating of 92, a grocery index rating of 96, and a housing index rating of 80. Residents of Iowa enjoy its natural beauty which ranks 32nd in the United States. There are 120 hospitals and 75 health centers that service a population of 3,168,703. The three highest ranked hospitals in Iowa are Mercy Hospital, St. Lukes Hospital, and And Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids. In terms of personal well-being, Iowa ranks 20th in healthcare and 14th in quality of life compared to other states.

Social demographics of the state

In terms of religious values, 36% of Iowa’s population regularly attend some form of service and there are in total 5,107 different congregations. The top three non-Christian denominations in the state are Jewish-<1%, Muslim-<1%, and Buddhist-<1%, with the most common Christian denominations consisting of Evangelical Protestant-28%, Mainline Protestant-30%, and Historically Black Protestant-2%. In Iowa there are 289 masonic lodges. In Iowa, 30% of the population is over the age of 55. The median age in the state is 38. In the most recent presidential election, 51% of Iowa residents voted Republican and 42% voted Democrat. In terms of diversity, Iowa ranks 43rd in the nation and is considered LGBTQ friendly.

State-wide weather information

The average temperature in the winter falls to around 22F. During the winter, the average high temperature peaks at around 40F during the month of February. In the winter months, the average low temperature falls to around 4F during the month of January. The average temperature in the summer rises to around 72F. The average high summer temperature is around 88F in the month of July. The average low summer temperature is around 55F in the month of June. On average, the humidity rating for Iowa is around 72%. Humidity levels tend to reach their peak in the month of December at around 78%. On average, Iowa has an air quality index rating of around 41.2 AQI. The average air quality index rating peaks in the month of May with a rating of around 53.8 AQI. On average, the state receives 2.93 inches of precipitation a month. The average amount of precipitation peaks during the month of July at around 6.46 inches. While residents of Iowa mostly enjoy pleasant conditions, it’s important to be aware of inclement weather as well, which in Iowa can include floods and earthquakes (high).

Wildlife to be found in Iowa

The state of Iowa has a diverse array of plant and animal life. Local plant life can consist of Tumblegrass, Bunchberry, Arrowgrass, and Cinnamon Ferns . While venturing throughout the state, you might see animals such as the Bear, the Bison, the Black Wolf, or the Porcupine. The state animal of Iowa is the Eastern Goldfinch.