10 Best Nursing Homes in San Antonio, TX

There are several ways to pay for a San Antonio senior care facility. Most families combine private pay methods and public pay options to cover long-term care costs. Below, you’ll find several methods and resources to help you understand your payment options, so you can carefully devise a payment plan for your loved one’s senior care facility.

In Texas, all skilled nursing, assisted living, and memory care facilities must be licensed and regulated by Texas Health and Human Services (also known as the HHSC or HHS) before they’re able to provide housing and care services to residents. Additionally, if a nursing or senior care facility wishes to accept Medicaid or Medicare, it must be certified by the HHS to do so. Below, you’ll find a summarized list of the certification requirements for nursing homes and senior care facilities in Texas:

Resident admission processes

• Using a doctor’s order, skilled nursing facilities must craft a person-centered care plan for each resident. This care plan must assess their dietary, therapeutic, social, psychological, and daily care needs.
• In assisted living and memory care facilities, a similar procedure must be followed except they are not required to use a doctor’s order for care plans. For memory care facilities, there must be a specialized admissions process in place to confirm a resident’s need for memory care services.

Management and staffing requirements

• Texas nursing homes and skilled nursing units are required to have licensed nurses, certified nursing assistants, nurse aids, and registered nurses on staff. All nursing facilities must also meet specific staff-to-resident ratios — one on-site nurse for every 20 residents at all times.
• Assisted living facilities must have an on-site, full-time manager to oversee the facility’s day-to-day operation. These managers are required to complete at least one 24-hour assisted living management course alongside their staff.
• Memory care facility managers and staff members must continually participate in specialized memory care training in order to remain a licensed memory care facility.

Safety and health standards

• A certified skilled nursing facility in Texas must meet design, construction, and equipment standards that support the health and safety of residents, staff, and visitors. Each nursing facility must have safety equipment and emergency procedures for accidents, fires, or power outages.
• Both assisted living and memory care facilities are required to have similar processes in place. In addition, memory care facilities must have measures in place to prevent residents from harming themselves or wandering. All facilities must allow for safe access to fresh air and common areas for activities.
• Memory care facilities, specifically, must designate an activities director to encourage socialization among residents. It’s required for the director to tailor activities based on each individual’s abilities. These directors are also responsible for arranging special equipment that enables all residents to participate in activities.

Senior care facility inspections

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission performs inspections on all skilled nursing, assisted living, and memory care facilities. These inspections are done approximately every two years and check for a facility’s compliance with the life safety and health code requirements. The health code and life safety code require nursing homes and senior care facilities to regulate the following:

• Sufficient staff-to-resident ratios
• Employee background checks
• Management of the facility
• General construction of the facility
• Implementation of safety and emergency features
• Protection from hazardous areas
• Documentation of fire drills, system checks, etc.

You can access a licensed community’s most recent inspection report and general facility information through the Texas Health and Human Services’ Long-term Care Provider Search. You can also email RSLTCR.RecordsMgmt@hhsc.state.tx.us to request any information not found on the site.

Nursing home reviews

In an effort to continually enhance the quality of care provided in Texas nursing homes, the Health and Human Services Commission implemented a Quality Monitoring Program (or QMP) to monitor nursing facilities with a history of resident care deficiencies. These QMPs are conducted by nurses, pharmacists, and dieticians who may recommend changes to policies or procedures, conduct staff on in-service training, offer technical assistance, and educate staff about evidence-based best practices, during their visits to facilities.

Families can also visit the federal Medicare website to compare and contrast ratings, staffing practices, and overall quality of Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes.

Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC or HHS) contact information

4601 W. Guadalupe St.
Austin, TX 78751
Phone: 512-424-6500
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

COVID-19 regulations for San Antonio nursing homes

COVID-19 regulations in San Antonio have loosened since the start of the pandemic; however, some practices have been adopted permanently to keep the aging population safe. Texas Health and Human Services (or HHS) has put out a COVID-19 response plan for nursing facilities to keep the state’s nursing home residents safe and healthy.

Currently, all San Antonio nursing homes and senior care facilities must allow visitors, as it is a resident’s right. Facilities are also expected to develop their own policies and procedures for infection control — including COVID-19 and any other spreadable viruses. The updated COVID-19 response plan includes the following practices:

San Antonio’s 60+ population is expected to grow roughly 20% by 2040. The city of San Antonio recognizes this fast growth and aims to keep San Antonio aging-friendly. The San Antonio Department of Human Services established a Senior Services Strategic Plan in 2019 to improve local senior support services. This plan includes enhancing programs in city senior centers, expanding medical services, and generally supporting local seniors as they age. Furthermore, you’ll find that senior care facilities are expanding their on-site care services and activities to provide seniors with a range of living options and care services.

Check out some of the most unique features of San Antonio senior care facilities below:

A wide range of care services

To help ensure residents maintain a healthy lifestyle without ever having to move, our partner care communities provide a range of on-site care services — from personal care to skilled nursing care. A majority of A Place for Mom’s partner senior communities in San Antonio offer diabetic care, incontinence care, medication management, and other on-site nursing services. For unique care services not available on-site, some communities even partner with local, home health care agencies. Many communities offer multiple care types on the same campus, such as independent living, assisted living, and memory care. This enables seniors to age in place without having to worry about moving if they ever need more specialized care.

On-site and off-site devotional activities

Aging adults are often devoted to a certain faith. Many of our partner senior care communities recognize this and provide a safe and peaceful devotional area, such as a chapel, to enable residents to practice their faith on-site. Some communities will even let the current resident consensus decide what religious services to host. For example, some communities are Catholic-dominant, so they’ll invite a Catholic priest to host a weekly Mass. Communities without a devotional space will often assist residents in practicing their faith by offering rides to a nearby chapel, temple, or synagogue.

Veteran recognition and celebrations

As Texas’ city with the largest veteran population, you’ll find that San Antonio doesn’t take military service for granted. In fact, several of our partnered senior care facilities memorialize their local veterans with displays to recognize their years of service. These communities also pull out all the stops during Veterans Day to celebrate and honor veteran residents, both within the senior community as well as the greater community. San Antonio hosts a myriad of Veterans Day events and activities, including a grand parade that some residents attend with friends and loved ones. It’s not uncommon for communities to organize off-site outings to these local festivities for their residents.

Health care for seniors in San Antonio

San Antonio offers a range of health care options for seniors and veterans. See what top-rated medical centers have to offer:

Transportation for seniors in San Antonio

Public transportation isn’t the safest, most reliable form of transportation for nursing home residents, so many of our partnered senior care facilities provide modes of transportation to get their residents around safely. In fact, approximately 85% of our in-network assisted living and memory care facilities provide at-cost or complimentary transportation services. Some facilities limit their rides to appointments, while others also offer rides for errands and events.

If the senior is more independent or if you’re a visiting friend or family member, you may want to look at local transportation options provided through VIA Metropolitan Transit. Seniors ages 62+ can ride for only a quarter Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and receive free rides Saturday and Sunday. Seniors must obtain a VIA Reduced Fare ID to receive their senior discounts.