Rochester Senior AdvisorWhat usually starts a senior care search in Rochester?
The most common triggers are a discharge from Strong, Highland, Rochester General, Unity or another area hospital, a fall, a new dementia diagnosis, a family caregiver reaching exhaustion, a winter spent isolated, or savings running low.
Each guide below starts from that moment and lists the steps in order, with the New York rules and local phone numbers that apply.
Who can help us figure out the next step for free?
NY Connects at (585) 325-2800 gives free help for Monroe County, each other county's Office for the Aging does the same, and a senior advisor can walk through licensed options; all are free to families.
If anyone is in danger, call 911. Suspected abuse or neglect of an adult at home goes to the county's Adult Protective Services.
What if our situation is not listed 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 check what the budget can sustain for two to three years.
Those three answers usually point to one or two New York license types, and the directory then shows which licensed providers exist near you.
Situations guides
When a parent is being discharged from a Rochester hospital
Steps for families when a parent is leaving Strong, Highland, Rochester General, Unity or another Rochester-area hospital and may need rehab, assisted living or home care.
Read →When a parent can no longer live alone
Signs a Rochester-area parent can no longer live safely alone, the options from home care to assisted living, and how to start the conversation.
Read →After a dementia diagnosis
Next steps after an Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis for Rochester-area families: legal papers, safety, support, SNALR memory care and payment.
Read →When the family caregiver is running out of strength
Signs of caregiver burnout and the help available to Rochester-area family caregivers: Lifespan, Office for the Aging respite, adult day care, CDPAP and residence respite stays.
Read →After a parent's fall
What to do after an older parent falls in the Rochester area: medical follow-up, home safety, winter risk, Matter of Balance classes and when a fall means more help is needed.
Read →When the money is running out
What Rochester-area families can do when savings for assisted living or home care are running low: Medicaid, the Assisted Living Program, VA pension, spousal protections and timing.
Read →Caring for a Rochester-area parent from out of town
Practical steps for adult children who live far from a parent in the Rochester area: local contacts, records to check remotely, care managers and planning visits.
Read →Getting a Rochester parent through the winter
How Rochester-area winters affect older adults living alone, the help available for snow removal, heating, meals and social contact, and when winter is a reason to consider assisted living.
Read →