Knoxville Senior AdvisorWhat situations usually start a senior care search?
Most searches start with a hospital discharge, a fall or a series of small warning signs in a parent who lives alone, a dementia diagnosis that begins to include wandering, an exhausted family caregiver, a move from out of state, or savings that are running low.
Each guide below explains the first decisions, the local agencies that help, and the Tennessee rules that apply.
What if more than one situation applies?
Start with whichever is most urgent for safety, usually a hospital discharge or wandering, and come back to the money and planning questions once your parent is safe.
A local advisor can help sort the order of steps at no cost to your family.
Situations: every guide
When a parent is being discharged from a Knoxville hospital
What Knoxville families should do when a parent leaves UT Medical Center, Fort Sanders, Parkwest, Blount Memorial or another area hospital: inpatient vs observation, rehab, home health, and returning to assisted living.
Read the guide →When a parent is living alone and starting to struggle
Signs a Knoxville-area parent living alone needs more help, local supports (CAC Office on Aging meals, ETHRA, OPTIONS, CHOICES), home safety, and when to start looking at assisted living.
Read the guide →When dementia starts to include wandering
What to do when a parent with dementia starts wandering or exit-seeking in the Knoxville area: immediate safety steps, Tennessee's secured-unit rules, how to find a real memory care unit, and paying for it.
Read the guide →When the family caregiver needs a break
Respite options for Knoxville-area family caregivers: short-term stays in assisted living, adult day health care, in-home respite, TennCare CHOICES respite limits and ETHRA's caregiver support program.
Read the guide →Moving a parent to the Knoxville area from out of state
Relocating an aging parent to Knoxville or East Tennessee: Tennessee residency and TennCare, Medicare plan changes, how Tennessee licenses assisted living, records to transfer and how to choose a community from afar.
Read the guide →When lake-community retirees need more care
Care planning for retirees in Tellico Village, Lenoir City, Loudon and other East Tennessee lake communities: local assisted living and nursing options, distances, and what to arrange before needs arise.
Read the guide →When savings for care start running low
What Knoxville families do as savings for assisted living or nursing care run low: TennCare CHOICES timing, communities that accept CHOICES, the room-and-board gap, VA pension and spousal protections.
Read the guide →