10 Best Nursing Homes in Fresno, CA

We’ll guide you through payment methods often used by families to cover senior care costs, whether for skilled nursing, assisted living, or memory care. First, we outline the most common types of private payment methods. Personal assets can often be combined with health care benefits to make the most out of long-term senior care. Next, we describe how senior long-term care benefits like Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, Medi-Cal, and Medicare are typically used to cover different forms of senior care.

We’ll help you understand which options might work best for the senior in your life. You’ll also find local contacts, resources, and application assistance for families in Fresno.

Fresno’s nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities are licensed by the California Department of Public Health (or CDPH). Each nursing facility must provide the following services to their residents:

• Skilled nursing services
• Physician services
• Dietary services
• Pharmaceutical services
• Activity programming
• Arranged transportation to medical services that can’t be provided on-site
• A plan for emergency medical care if the on-site physician isn’t present

The caregivers and residents’ living spaces in California’s skilled nursing facilities also have a range of requirements:

• Enough nursing staff must be on-site so that each resident gets a minimum of three hours of services per day.
• Each staff member must participate in continuing education on safety and care procedures.
• Each facility is licensed for a certain number of residents and beds that cannot be exceeded.
• Each room must have a bed, table, chair, and space to keep the resident’s belongings.

When a skilled nursing facility accepts Medi-Cal or Medicare, it’s also regulated by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (also known as CMS). CMS has the right to approve or deny a facility’s state-level certification through the CDPH.

California laws and regulations for assisted living and memory care

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) regulates and licenses assisted living facilities, memory care facilities, and residential care homes in Fresno. Every facility is required to follow regulations like the following:

• House a maximum of two residents per bedroom
• Provide individual privacy in each bathroom
• Ensure bedrooms can accommodate equipment, such as wheelchairs and walkers
• Provide clean and accessible common areas for residents
• Provide activities involving social, leisure, and daily living skills

Fresno’s memory care communities have additional staff ratio and training requirements:

• Each community must have one staff member awake and on duty at night.
• When a community has over 16 residents, there must also be an on-call staff member.
• Each caregiver must have at least eight annual hours in dementia-specific training.

In addition, the CDSS requires that seniors be assessed before moving into an assisted living or memory care facility. Assessments should involve interviews and a review of the senior’s health records.

Inspection reports

Skilled nursing home facilities are inspected each year by the Licensing and Certification Division of the CDPH. The CDPH Center for Health Care Quality (or CHCQ) has an online dashboard that allows you to search by facility name or type. You can also browse the county’s common skilled nursing home facility violations. Assisted living and memory care facilities are inspected by the California Department of Social Services (or CDSS) once a year and within 10 days of a complaint.

Inspection reports and a list of licensed communities can be found in the CDSS Care Facility Search. Scroll to “Search By Facility Group,” choose “Elderly Assisted Living,” choose the “Facility Type” and “Fresno County,” and then click on the search button. You can also search by community name or address if you have that information.

California Department of Health contact information

California Department of Public Health

1616 Capitol Ave.

Sacramento, CA 95899-7377

Phone: 916-558-1784

COVID-19 regulations for Fresno nursing homes

Fresno County recommends that residents get tested when needed and stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccines. There isn’t a current mask mandate, but the county follows the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) COVID-19 guidance.

Note: Fresno senior care communities may have individual COVID-19 guidelines in place. Please contact your prospective community to know what to expect.

A Place for Mom’s Fresno partners can help local seniors find the right senior care community. Choose a Fresno community that provides skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care, or a combination of all care services. Below, we outline each type of senior care community in detail so you can understand what to expect.

Fresno nursing homes and senior care facilities

Fresno nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities provide 24/7 medical care and skilled observation through highly trained medical caregivers, like doctors and nurses. In some instances, the medical caregivers can arrange rehabilitation services if a senior needs to recover from an illness or procedure. However, some seniors and their families choose among the 31% of our Fresno partner assisted living and memory care communities that also provide skilled nursing services.

Please note that most assisted living communities usually only provide access to on-site skilled nursing care to current residents. It’s rare for these facilities to admit seniors who are already in need of this high level of care. So, if you have the opportunity to help your senior loved one establish residency in an assisted living facility before they require 24/7 care, it’s something to consider. If it works out, your elder family member can stay in their preferred assisted living community even if their needs change, rather than moving to an institutional nursing home.

Health care for seniors in Fresno

Wherever seniors live in Fresno, there are local health care options that can fit their needs. Browse the top-rated local medical centers below, including a veteran-specific clinic and medical centers with doctors who specialize in dementia.

Transportation for seniors in Fresno

About 83% of A Place for Mom’s partner assisted living and memory care facilities provide transportation services to residents. Whether it’s a complimentary or at-cost service, these transportation options are a secure and reliable way for seniors to navigate Fresno. Common reasons seniors use these transportation services are for community outings, errands, and doctor’s appointments.

Families and visitors also have convenient options for exploring this car-dependent city if they don’t have their own transportation:

• Bike-friendly routes
• Walkable areas
• Fresno Area Express (or FAX) buses, all of which can accommodate people with physical disabilities
• Shared ride services, such as Lyft and Uber
• Local taxi services

Senior activities in Fresno

Fresno is full of experiences for visitors and those exploring with their senior loved ones. The spellbinding Sierra National Forest, gorgeous Yosemite, and more California destinations are never far away in the center of the California Central Valley. For locally tailored activities, explore the helpful Visit Fresno website to create meaningful memories with your loved one. We’ve also provided some local highlights below that we think residents of our senior partner communities may enjoy.

Outdoor opportunities

Enjoy Fresno’s tranquil outdoor spaces with loved ones.

• Stroll along walking paths or relax in the serene Japanese garden in Woodward Park.
• Stop by the Clovis Botanical Garden for a calming sensory experience and pristine, themed displays of plant life.
• The Forestiere Underground Gardens is another one of Fresno’s hidden gems. It boasts wheelchair-accessible tunnels that lead to pristine gardens and courtyards. This is a particularly creative way for locals to escape Fresno’s summertime heat.

The center of “America’s breadbasket”

Join your loved one on an experiential journey through Fresno’s farm-to-table flavors.

• Visit the city’s unique outdoor markets for local produce, handmade gifts, and more.
• Get a feel for what gives Fresno its name by visiting the popular farm-to-table restaurants.
• Walk through the Tower District for a grand variety of coffee shops and eateries.

Fresno’s vibrant community

This historical Californian city suits a range of interests.

• The Fresno Art Museum has a disability-friendly layout and paints a picture of the local diversity.
• Accompany your loved one to Old Town Clovis, known for its historic streets and the Vintage and Antiques District.
• The nearby Clovis Senior Activity Center offers seniors a place of their own, where classes and activities help to form new friendships.