Des Moines Senior AdvisorWhat do Des Moines Senior Advisor's guides cover?
Our 12 guides take central Iowa families through specific decisions: dementia-specific programs around Des Moines, nursing home ratings and state fines, the Elderly Waiver, PACE, VA help, hospital discharge and county-by-county options, each sourced to Iowa rules, state agencies or federal data.
New guides appear on a regular schedule, and the newest is linked in the footer of every page. Each opens with a short answer, includes at least one data table, and closes with the questions families ask about it.
How do the guides differ from the reference pages?
The rules, cost and directory pages are reference material; each guide follows one situation or decision the way a family meets it, linking back to the reference pages for the full rules.
If a guide and a reference page ever disagree, we correct the reference page first and then the guide.
The Iowa Assisted Living Tour Checklist: Documents, Questions and Red Flags
Iowa's rules give families the right to see more paperwork than most realize. Here is what to ask for on a Des Moines-area tour, and why.
Read the guide →October 30, 2026Senior Care in Jasper, Madison, Guthrie and Warren Counties
The outer counties of the Des Moines metro are older and have fewer options. What exists close to home, and when families look toward the city.
Read the guide →October 26, 2026VA Aid and Attendance for Central Iowa Veterans and Widows
A wartime veteran or surviving spouse paying for care may qualify for more VA pension than the family expects. The 2026 numbers and how to claim.
Read the guide →October 21, 2026Leaving a Des Moines Hospital for Rehab: A Checklist for Families
Discharge happens fast. Here is how to choose a rehab bed in Polk County in a day or two, with the federal and state records in hand.
Read the guide →October 16, 2026PACE or the Elderly Waiver? Choosing Between Iowa's Two Big Programs
Both help older Iowans stay out of a nursing home. They work in very different ways, and only one is available in every metro county.
Read the guide →October 12, 2026West Des Moines, Waukee and the Dallas County Senior Living Boom
Dallas County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the Midwest, and senior living has followed. What the state's roster shows about the west metro.
Read the guide →October 7, 2026Home Care or Assisted Living in Iowa: Where the Math Flips
Iowa has some of the country's most expensive home care and least expensive assisted living. That changes when a move makes financial sense.
Read the guide →September 30, 2026When Did Iowa Last Inspect Your Parent's Assisted Living Program?
Iowa must visit every assisted living program at least once every two years. The state's own scheduling report shows where each metro program stands.
Read the guide →September 23, 2026Can the Elderly Waiver Help Pay for Assisted Living in Des Moines?
Iowa Medicaid's Elderly Waiver can help with assisted living, but only part of the bill. Here is what it covers, what it does not, and who qualifies in 2026.
Read the guide →September 16, 2026Des Moines Nursing Home Staffing: A Snapshot From CMS Payroll Data
Staffing is the number families ask about most and see least. CMS publishes it for every certified home; here is how the metro compares.
Read the guide →September 9, 2026What Iowa's Fines Report Shows About Des Moines Assisted Living
Iowa publishes every state fine it assesses. We matched the report to the metro's assisted living programs and explain how to read it.
Read the guide →September 2, 2026Where the Des Moines Metro's Memory Care Programs Actually Are
Iowa certifies memory care as its own kind of assisted living program. We mapped every dementia-specific certificate in the six-county metro.
Read the guide →