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From barbecue to blues, Memphis has a lot to love. While searching for Memphis long-term care options, you’ll notice the term “nursing home” comes up a lot because it’s often used as a general term for any type of long-term care. However, in reality, nursing home refers to skilled nursing wings or facilities. This specialized service cares for people with extensive short- and long-term health conditions and often isn’t actually needed by people searching for a long-term care community.
While A Place for Mom doesn’t partner with standalone skilled nursing homes, we do have 13 different long-term care options to consider, one of which has a skilled nursing facility on-site. The care you’re looking for might be found in other senior living facilities. Here’s how our 13 partners within a 10-mile radius of downtown Memphis break down:
In this guide, you’ll learn how residents can pay for their time in these facilities, how the government regulates them, and what services they provide so you can make an informed decision on the care level needed. You’ll also learn everything there is to know about life in the Bluff City, from health care options to transportation services and ways to have fun.
Types of care available in Memphis, TN
We were there for a very short period of time less than 2 months. the majority of this time mom had been placed in hospice care with Compassus. The things we liked most was we were told there would be a nurse on duty 24 hrs a day in moms unit. There were only 10 residents in moms unit. The layout of the facility. It was very open, the living area and dining room was located in the center and all of the residents rooms surrounded the dining and living room. there were no long halls.
Shelby Gardens might not be the newest, fanciest assisted living facility, but it does have the best staff. In fact, they just won a bunch of awards! The staff really care for my mom and look out for her best interests - and she’s not always the easiest to get along with. Shelby Gardens has transformed my life and my mom’s.
I live out of state, but my sister and brother both live in Memphis and visit our mom frequently. There have been several issues that have come up, but they have now been resolved. I am pleased that my mom has gained weight and talks much clearer when I am on the phone with her.
3909 Covington Pike, Memphis, TN 38135
On behalf of our team of caregivers and support staff, thank you for considering our healthcare center. We offer a full range of medical services to meet the individual needs of our residents, including short-term rehabilitative services and long-term skilled care. Working with the resident’s...
3168 Hacks Cross Road, Memphis, TN 38119
The Arbors at South Breeze is an Alzheimer's memory care community located in Memphis, Tennessee in Shelby county. Southern charm is abundant in the outskirts of Memphis where the Arbors at South Breeze is located. It can be found in Germantown Station Park, just a block away from the community,...
3168 Hacks Cross Road, Memphis, TN 38119
The Arbors at South Breeze is an Alzheimer's memory care community located in Memphis, Tennessee in Shelby county. Southern charm is abundant in the outskirts of Memphis where the Arbors at South Breeze is located. It can be found in Germantown Station Park, just a block away from the community,...
The cost of nursing home care in Memphis is $7,087 for residents in a semi-private room and $7,513 for a private room.[01] Nursing care, in this context, refers to skilled nursing care. These facilities have on-site health and rehabilitation services and a 24/7 medical presence.
Skilled nursing facilities are a good fit for seniors who need around-the-clock care, have serious physical or mental health conditions, or for those who need short-term care to recover from surgery, injury, or hospital stays. Services in a nursing home will often include:
For some people, a nursing home isn’t actually an appropriate form of care, as not everyone needs constant medical supervision. When people are more active and can live with some independence, assisted living or memory care might be better options.
According to proprietary data from A Place for Mom, the average monthly cost of assisted living and memory care is $3,985.[02] This figure includes any associated fees or add-ons, though actual prices may vary depending on location, floor plan, and additional amenities and services.
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Assisted living and memory care can be paid for in a few ways. These are primarily privately funded (for example, through personal investments or savings) or publicly funded (such as through benefits or Medicare). While some people like to pay through one method, most use a combination of several funding methods to cover the cost of care.
In this section, you will learn how private pay, VA benefits, Medicaid, and Medicare can be used to pay for skilled nursing care.
People can use private funding to pay for assisted living or memory care in a handful of ways. Some of the most common are savings, pensions, investment returns, and Social Security benefits. For more ideas, these options are also helpful ways to pay for care:
In Tennessee, nursing homes must be licensed and regulated by Tennessee’s Department of Health. To hold a license, skilled nursing facilities (nursing homes) need to meet a number of requirements that involve staffing, quality of care, safety protocols, and training.
Nursing homes have specific staffing needs. In Tennessee, a registered nurse (RN) must be on duty for eight hours daily, while a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or RN must always be on duty. Residents should receive at least two hours of one-on-one care every day.
Inspections happen regularly through the Department of Health at the state level. At the federal level, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also regulate facilities that operate through Medicaid and Medicare programs.
Inspections are unannounced and will survey the following:
The Department of Health publishes its findings annually in a report titled Nursing Home Inspection and Enforcement Activities. To look up specific nursing home facilities, you can click here.
For additional information on Tennessee’s standards and criteria for nursing home services, you may find it helpful to review the following resources:
Assisted living rules and regulations are also laid out for facilities without skilled nursing. Memory care is also subject to these standards, as well as adult care homes. These group homes are found in residential settings providing care to a small group.
In Tennessee, assisted living and memory care facilities are both licensed under the term “assisted-care living facilities.” Another term is “homes for the aged,” which are also assisted living facilities, but they provide help with personal care only and no medical care at all.
Specific care plans must be created in a resident’s first five days. Medical records must be kept covering everything from medication administration and staff observations to doctor’s orders and vaccination records.
For memory care facilities, staff and administrators must have additional training on dementia behaviors. This is so they can be alert for exit-seeking behaviors and be able to successfully redirect residents and keep them safe and secure.
You can look up an assisted living or memory care facility (both are under assisted-care living facility) to see how it fared during inspections on the Department of Health’s Health Care Facilities search page. Group homes are searched as adult care homes.
Tennessee Department of Health
710 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: 615-741-3111
Hours of Operation: Weekdays, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Currently, Tennessee doesn’t have any state mandates relating to COVID-19 management in senior care facilities. Instead, the state has opted to require health care facilities to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
In summary, these are some of the guidelines:
Vaccinations. Staff is required to be vaccinated and boosted.
Masking. Masks are encouraged, though not required, for guests and residents. If transmission rates become high, everyone is required to wear a mask. Find the latest data on community COVID transmission on the Shelby County Health Department’s data dashboard.
Facility cleanliness. Staff should disinfect high-touch areas regularly.
Staff safety. Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn by staff when necessary.
Social distancing. Social distancing is encouraged indoors during peak visiting hours, parties, or other group gatherings.
While A Place for Mom does not partner with nursing homes, one assisted living facility in our network offers a skilled nursing wing.
Nursing home is often used as an all-encompassing term to describe any sort of long-term care or independent living community when the reality is that a skilled nursing facility is very different from other forms of senior care. In skilled nursing, expect more one-on-one time with staff, custodial care, rehabilitation, and palliative care all times of day or night.
Other senior options like assisted living or memory care can also provide skilled nursing services but for seniors with more independence in daily life. When determining necessary care needs, it is also helpful to look into multiple care options to determine which will offer the most suitable lifestyle.
Of our 13 assisted living and memory care facility partners, three are standalone assisted living facilities and two are combination assisted living and independent living facilities. Six are combinations of assisted living and memory care facilities, and two are adult care homes. No two facilities in Memphis will be the same, so it’s important to understand the senior’s care needs in order to find the right match.
Need full medication management? Non-ambulatory care? Of the 13 in-network facilities, 85% offer both of those services. For seniors who have trouble getting around, more than half have wheelchair-accessible showers built in, and 69% have ground-floor living units for residents who have trouble with stairs. There’s sure to be a choice of options when it comes to the specific care you or your loved one requires.
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Percentage of seniors 65 and older within the Memphis population
There are several large medical systems in the Memphis area. Most have multiple locations, making travel convenient, and all of them offer a range of specialties and services.
This teaching hospital and surgical facility is ranked the number one regional hospital in Memphis by U.S News and World Report. Located in the East Memphis neighborhood, Baptist Memorial is classified as “high-performing” across 12 adult procedures, with particular recognition for its knee and hip replacement surgeries and treatment of heart conditions like COPD.
A sprawling medical institution with five campuses in Memphis, U.S. News and World Report recognized this hospital as the second-best regional hospital. It is widely known for its cancer care programs.
Offering extensive care for veterans in Memphis, the VA Medical Center provides primary care, hospital services, and specialty care for women, people with mental health disorders, and those struggling with addiction.
Among our partner assisted living and memory care facilities, 62% offer complimentary transportation for residents and 39% offer at-cost services. At minimum, transport to medical appointments is standard.
Memphis is a spread-out city, meaning it’s difficult for people to get around without a car. For people with limited mobility and who are unable to use a car or bus independently, there are senior-specific transport services.
While there are plenty of fun activities to take part in onsite, as well as some planned outings, you might want to do something special with visiting friends or family. It’s easy to do just that in Memphis with the extensive range of activities on offer. Whether you’re interested in music, art, or you want to spend an afternoon on the Mississippi River, there’s something for several tastes and desires.
One of the most unique sights in Memphis is the Peabody Hotel’s duck parade. Originating in the 1930s, this tradition sees the staff of the Peabody Memphis roll out the red carpet for their skein of ducks, who proudly waddle to the foyer’s central fountain for a dip. The duck march happens at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day and is enjoyed by kids and adults alike. The Peabody also takes care to make sure public spaces and bathrooms are accessible to people with disabilities.
Memphis is the site of several great music venues, but this one might have the most history behind it. The Overton Park Shell is an outdoor Depression-era bandshell that hosts a raft of family-friendly music events. Perhaps most famous for hosting Elvis Presley in his first public performance, the shell features several genres and even hosts a free concert series in the summer. The venue is 100% wheelchair-accessible, has been certified as sensory-inclusive, and has American Sign Language interpreters at many events.
An afternoon on the water is also a wonderful way to spend the day; consider a scenic tour or lunch and blues cruise on an authentic riverboat. For additional accessibility, just call ahead after booking, and staff will be able to accommodate guests who need assistance.
A trip to the Memphis Botanic Garden is a must for those who want to spend the day outside. Situated on 96 acres, the botanic garden has 30 gardens, all themed differently. The botanic garden is wheelchair-accessible and has plenty of benches along the way for those who want to rest while taking in the scents, sights, and sounds.
HarborChase of Germantown, HarborChase of Cordova and Brightmore of East Memphis are the top-rated Nursing Homes facilities near Memphis, TN. These Nursing Homes facilities received the highest rankings based on verified family reviews. See full list of communities.
The average cost of Nursing Homes in Memphis is 4,721 per month. This cost may vary based on location, amenities, floorplan, level of care and other factors.
Genworth. (2021). Cost of Care Survey. Cost of Care Survey. https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html
A Place for Mom. (2022). A Place for Mom proprietary data.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Nursing Facilities. Medicaid. https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/long-term-services-supports/institutional-long-term-care/nursing-facilities/index.html
Harrington, C. (2008). Nursing Home Staffing Standards in State Statutes and Regulations.https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/nursing_home_staffing_standards_in_state_statutes_and_regulations.pdf
Tennessee Department of Health. (2021). Letter to Long Term Care Providers. Letter to Long Term Care Providers.https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/datasets/LTCF-Community.pdf
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