10 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Norwalk, IA

Norwalk, Iowa

Assisted Living

An assisted living community is a residential community which provides supervision, support, and assistance to medically stable seniors who do not need skilled nursing support. The types of service offered often include assistance with activities of daily living. Residents may be kept under monitoring and evaluation. Under certain circumstances, communities may offer nursing care, continuing care, or hospice. In Iowa, the annual median cost for an assisted living community is around $48,933 . Iowa maintains a number of stipulations related to this kind of community. The Department of Inspections and Appeals, Health communities Division governs this community type. 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 negotiated risk agreement, a multidisciplinary team must be involved in service planning when residents require personal care or health-related services, and a comprehensive mental and physical assessment. This type of community is required to offer a number of services. These include health-related services, assistance with activities of daily living, resident access to a 24-hour personal emergency response system, and assistance with personal care. 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 health care provider must prescribe a therapeutic diet, and communities must provide hot meals at least once a day. This community type has a number of provisions pertaining to medication assistance. These provisions include reading instructions or other label information, packaging at the resident’s direction, and opening containers. Public assistance is available through Medicaid 1915(c) Elderly Waiver program. Staff members receive education in a variety of subjects. These include: accident, emergency procedures, fire safety, and assisted living management or nursing course. 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. There must be one bath or shower for every 1 residents and one toilet for every 1 residents.

Cost of Living

The overall cost of living is a major factor in selecting which care choice works best. The rent burden for Norwalk is around 15.0% of the average person’s monthly income. The median home value in Norwalk is about $179,486 and the median price for rent is about $1,292 per month a month.

Demographics and Values

In terms of education, 9.9% have a graduate degree, 20.9% have a high-school diploma, and 39.8% have a college degree. Demographically, Norwalk is 2.0% Hispanic, 0.2% black, 0.3% Native American, 97.6% white, 0.0% Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 0.3% Asian, 0.9% other or not specified, and 0.7% mixed race. Norwalk has a population density of 368 people per square mile. The current population of Norwalk consists of 10,896 people. Based on gender, 48.9% are female and 51.1% are male. The median age of Norwalk is 36 years old. In Norwalk, 3.0% live in poverty, 76.8% participate in the labor force, 4.1% are widowed, and 9.0% have some form of disability. In Norwalk, 13.1% of the citizens are veterans of the United States military.

State Information

An overview of Iowa

The state of Iowa has a cost of living index of 91.8 where a score of 100 is the national average, and anything below 100 is considered less expensive than the national average. The state has a grocery index rating of 95.9 and a housing index rating of 79.6. There are 120 general hospitals and 75 health centers that provide care for 3,168,703 Iowa residents. The three highest ranked hospitals in Iowa are Mercy Hospital, St. Lukes Hospital, and And Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids. Residents of Iowa enjoy its natural beauty which ranks 32nd in the United States. The quality of life enjoyed by the average Iowa citizen is ranked 14th nation-wide. Additionally, Iowa is ranked 20th by healthcare standards.

Social demographics of the state

The state of Iowa ranks 43rd in the country for diversity, and the state is considered LGBTQ friendly. The state has a median age of 38 and 30% of its population being over the age of 55. In terms of religion, 36% of Iowa residents attend religious services among the 5,107 different congregations that are available in the state. The top three Christian denominations in the state are Evangelical Protestant-28%, Mainline Protestant-30%, and Historically Black Protestant-2%. The top three non-Christian denominations in the state are Jewish-<1%, Muslim-<1%, and Buddhist-<1%. In Iowa there are 289 masonic lodges. In the last presidential election 42% of Iowa residents voted Democrat and 51% voted Republican.

State-wide weather information

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. The average monthly precipitation for the state of Iowa is around 2.93 inches. The most precipitation occurs in July with an average of 6.46 inches of precipitation a month. During the winter, the average temperature in Iowa drops 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. During the summer, the average temperature in Iowa is 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%. The highest monthly average humidity rating is 78% in the month of December. 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 Cinnamon Ferns , Dryflower, Prickly Pear Cactus, and Tumblegrass. While venturing throughout the state, you might see animals such as the Bear, the Black Wolf, the Elk, or the Bison. The state animal of Iowa is the Eastern Goldfinch.