104 assisted living communities near Tampa

What is Assisted Living?

Assisted living is a residential level of care that many seniors choose to help them with the activities of daily living (ADLs) that have become burdensome for them. This includes cooking, cleaning, grooming and other daily chores that take physical effort to do. In an assisted living community, aging citizens have the help they need for these things, plus 24-hour help on call from staff in the facility. Many assisted living communities also offer help with medication and other medical needs, though this is not their primary area of expertise, as it is with skilled nursing or hospice care.

Services Available in Assisted Living Communities in Tampa

The assisted living communities in Tampa are much like those in other parts of Florida in that they provide living space and almost always three full meals a day for their residents. They can vary quite a lot in the details, however, and the communities you look into might offer other amenities, such as:

• Community activities, like game nights and in-home concerts or plays
• Day trips to nearby attractions, especially to the theme parks an hour north in the Orlando area
• Physical therapy
• Medication assistance
• Adult education classes, from cooking to crafts

Every facility is unique, so it helps to ask about these extras when you’re visiting a potential community for yourself or the senior you love.

Getting Ready to Move to Assisted Living in Tampa

If you live in Tampa and are thinking about assisted living for yourself or for a senior family member, there are some steps to go through before committing to a decision. First, almost everybody who opts for assisted living gets a medical examination from their primary care doctor. This is to make sure they’re healthy enough for assisted living and that they don’t need a higher level of care, as often happens for people with Alzheimer’s or other conditions.

After the doctor endorses assisted living as an option, you can start touring assisted living communities in the area. Tampa has a lot of places to choose from, so budget extra time for facility tours and time interviewing residents about what their community is like.

In the month or two before the move, try to shed as many unnecessary pieces of furniture and other items as possible. Space is often limited in an assisted living community, and you can always bring things from home after settling in. This is also a good time to look at your finances and make sure you’re set up to pay the monthly cost of rent and other services that come with assisted living.

Costs Associated with Assisted Living in Tampa

Typical assisted living costs nationwide hover around $3,750 a month for basic care, which usually means room and board. Be sure to ask on your visit what else is included; some communities include laundry, transportation and room cleanup service in the monthly bill, while others charge extra. The median cost per month of assisted living in Tampa is $3,150. This is not only lower than the national figure, it’s also much lower than the $4,100 a month many people pay in the newer neighborhoods in nearby Orlando.

When you work with our Seniorly Guides to find a home to love, this is always a free service for families. The Seniorly Guide is compensated directly from the community you eventually select in Tampa.

Assisted Living v. Other Types of Senior Care

Assisted living is just one level of care for seniors and people who need some help with their ADLs. As the first level of residential care, assisted living is a step up from having regular in-home visits from a caregiver, but it’s less care-intensive than skilled nursing or post-acute rehab. Those two are more medically oriented, as is hospice care, which tends toward comfort for the critically ill. Memory care is another level some aging citizens come to need, though this form of residential care is mainly for those with Alzheimer’s or dementia, and sometimes other chronic neurological conditions. Unlike the other care options, assisted living is for aging citizens who can still live more or less independently, with perhaps a daily check-in by staff for safety and medications, and with personalized help managing ADLs, while still preserving as much privacy and independence as possible.

Helpful Apps and Websites for Assisted Living in Tampa

One of the best things about the modern age is how much technology contributes to living a more convenient lifestyle. Seniors are especially likely to find a use for apps that can bring service to their homes, whether they live independently or in assisted living. Seniorly has a list of local apps for seniors in the Tampa region. This helpful list was developed by Seniorly over a period of 6 months and can be handy for aging citizens just settling in. Here are just three of the 17 apps and websites we feature:

• Lab Florida – It can be difficult and time-consuming for some aging citizens to go to a hospital or doctor’s office for needed lab tests. Lab Florida solves that problem by bringing the lab to your private room. Certified techs can draw the labs your doctor orders in the privacy and comfort of your home or assisted living community.
• Maid to Order – Maid to Order fills the gap some seniors have between the personal help their caregivers can render for their ADLs and the home cleaning service many communities charge extra for. If your assisted living community doesn’t include deep cleaning of your room in the monthly service, Maid to Order can have somebody out on request to handle everything from a bit of clutter to sanitizing a restroom.
• Groomobile – Your pets need to be well-groomed to be as healthy and happy as they can be. Groomobile helps you see to that when you schedule pet grooming service in their mobile van, which can meet you at your home anywhere in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.

To see our full list of apps and websites for seniors in Tampa-St. Petersburg, click here. 

Resources for Caregivers in Tampa

Caregivers do a lot for the seniors they look after, and they deserve support too. These resources, from a list Seniorly developed over six months, are available to caregivers in Tampa, and they can make a world of difference for those who make a difference for others. Here are three of the 13 organization we recommend:

• Department of Elder Affairs – The State of Florida’s Department of Elder Affairs operates an Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative that’s aimed at training caregivers to spot the early signs of the disease in the seniors they care for. The program also coordinates in-home and community-based respite care for stretches from a few hours up to 30 days for caregivers who need a break for whatever reason.
• Senior Connection Center – This program helps caregivers and seniors alike find the help they need with community connections, finding the programs and services seniors are entitled to but may not know about, and assistance with the complicated minutiae of Medicare regulations.
• Affinity – The Pasadena Community Church recognizes the bond that inevitably grows up between caregivers and the seniors who are special to them. When the person you’ve cared for passes on, you can feel a special grief as their former caregiver. Affinity offers bereavement services specifically tailored to caregivers who’ve suffered loss, with support groups, meetings and sponsors who can check in to see how you’re doing when you need it most.

To see our full list of resources for caregivers in Tampa-St. Petersburg, click here.

Government Resources for Seniors in Tampa

The State of Florida has made a special effort to encourage seniors to move in and make themselves at home. Some of this has just been a word-of-mouth campaign about how great the state is for seniors, while some of it has been paid advertising in other states. To back up the PR effort, Florida has also set up some agencies to help seniors adjust to life in the state. Non-government agencies have done likewise. These partners operate locally in Tampa to serve Bay Area seniors:

• Office On Aging – This office, operated by the state Parks and Recreation Department, looks after seniors with public and political advocacy. It also operates two multi-service centers that offer adult programs for aging citizens.
• AARP Senior Employment Service – This service offers help for seniors who would like to keep working or would like to get back into the job market. This service connects senior job seekers with employers and offers help with resumes and references.
• Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas – Operates the Aging and Disability Resource Center helpline, which aging citizens can call for help and advice for navigating the services and programs available in the Tampa-St. Petersburg region.

Neighborhood Information

The Tampa-St. Petersburg Metro Bay Area doesn’t have very distinct borders, so it can be hard to give specific numbers and figures for the region. The built-up parts of this area gradually feed out into the suburbs of Orlando to the northeast and Sarasota to the south. Within that region, however, some three million people live in a pleasant mix of dense urban and loose suburban housing, plus a few more rural properties on the fringes of Central Florida’s many wetland preserves. Crime in most categories is average for the nation, though it sometimes happens that a gator appears on the local golf course and has to be shooed away by staff. A lot of the local economy is geared toward tourism, which continues year-round thanks to Tampa-St. Petersburg’s amazingly level and steady summertime climate, which draws millions of visitors from the snowier parts of the country.

Tampa Demographics

The median age in Tampa is 36.2 years. This is significantly lower than the Florida median of 42.1. The state number is high, relative to the national median of 37.8, because of Florida’s unrivaled reputation as the place to retire for seniors from all over the country.

Tampa Weather

Tampa and St. Petersburg occupy the coast around Tampa Bay, a large natural harbor that helps keep temperatures steady through the year. Daily highs here average 81.7°F, while the annual low temperature average is 65°F.

Transportation in and Around Tampa

The Tampa area is served by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), which operates dozens of bus routes around the bay. PSTA also operates four trolleys that tour various parts of the coast. Connections are available between services for travelers on their way to Orlando or Palm Harbor. Seniors get a discount, and many choose to get transit IDs for daily unlimited travel.

Fun Facts About Tampa

• Babe Ruth hit the longest home run of his career (587 feet!) during an exhibition game in Tampa.
• Florida can be a hot place inland, but thanks to the nearby bay, temperatures in Tampa have never reached triple digits.