Des Moines Senior AdvisorWhat usually starts a senior care search in Des Moines?
A discharge from UnityPoint, MercyOne or Broadlawns, a fall, a dementia diagnosis, a family caregiver reaching the end of their rope, or savings running low are the moments that bring most families to us.
Each guide below begins at that moment and lists the steps in order, with the Iowa rules and central Iowa phone numbers that apply.
Who can help us work out the next step for free?
Aging Resources of Central Iowa ((515) 255-1310) gives free options counseling for Polk, Dallas, Warren, Jasper and Madison counties, Elderbridge (1-800-243-0678) covers Guthrie County, and a senior advisor can walk through certified options; none of them charges families.
If anyone is in danger, call 911. Suspected abuse of a dependent adult at home goes to Iowa HHS at 1-800-362-2178.
What if our situation is not here?
Start with what help is needed and when: list the daily tasks your parent can no longer do safely, note whether help is needed at night, and estimate what the budget can sustain for two or three years.
Those three answers usually narrow the choice to one or two Iowa care types, and the directory then shows which certified providers are near you.
Situations: every guide
When a parent is being discharged from a Des Moines-area hospital
What to do when a parent is discharged from UnityPoint Iowa Methodist, Iowa Lutheran, Methodist West, MercyOne Des Moines or Broadlawns: observation status, rehab choices, home health, assisted living and Medicaid timing.
Open the guide →When living alone stops being safe
Signs an aging parent in central Iowa can no longer live alone, how to talk about it, and the options: in-home help, adult day services, the Elderly Waiver, PACE and assisted living in the Des Moines metro.
Open the guide →What to do after a parent's dementia diagnosis
Next steps after a dementia diagnosis for central Iowa families: legal documents, driving, safety at home, support, and when to consider a dementia-specific assisted living program in the Des Moines metro.
Open the guide →When the family caregiver is running out of strength
Help for exhausted family caregivers in the Des Moines metro: respite, adult day services, Elderly Waiver respite, caregiver support from Aging Resources of Central Iowa, and when a move is the right answer.
Open the guide →When savings for care are running out
What Des Moines-area families can do when a parent's savings for assisted living or home care run low: the Elderly Waiver, Iowa Medicaid for nursing home care, VA pension, PACE and how to avoid a forced move.
Open the guide →Caring for a parent in central Iowa from far away
How adult children living away from Iowa can arrange care for a parent in the Des Moines metro: local eyes, documents, assessing options remotely, checking DIAL and CMS records, and visiting well.
Open the guide →After a parent's fall
What central Iowa families should do after an older parent falls: medical follow-up, home safety, emergency response systems, rehab, home health and when assisted living makes sense, including winter fall risk.
Open the guide →Moving a parent to the Des Moines metro
What families should know before moving an aging parent to the Des Moines metro from another state or rural Iowa: choosing a suburb, Medicaid and waiver timing, doctors, and Iowa's assisted living rules.
Open the guide →