The Levels of Care: A Practical Overview
Senior care in Florida is organized around several distinct licensed levels, each designed for a different set of needs.
Families searching for long-term care options sometimes search for “assisted living” when what their family member actually needs is skilled nursing care in a “nursing home” — generally because “assisted living” sounds less clinical and less final. The terminology mismatch can lead families to settings that are not equipped to manage the level of care their family member requires.
Understanding what each term describes — and separating the clinical reality from the cultural baggage — allows for clearer conversations and better decisions.
Nursing Home (often referred to as Skilled Nursing Facility)
Provides 24-hour nursing oversight, medical management and rehabilitative therapy for residents and patients with complex or ongoing clinical needs. Skilled nursing care encompasses both long-term residential care (nursing home) for people who cannot safely live in a less supervised setting, and short-term post-acute rehabilitation for people who are recovering from surgery, illness or injury and expect to return home. For long-term care, the private pay daily rates are inclusive. For short-term care, Medicare benefits will apply.
A specialized level of care within the nursing home category, designed specifically for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and related conditions. Memory care programs provide a structured, clinically supported environment with specialized staff training, purpose-built design and programming built around cognitive engagement and behavioral support.
Assisted Living
Provides personal care services — help with bathing, dressing, medication management and meals — for residents who need support with daily activities but do not require the clinical oversight of a skilled nursing program. Assisted living is separately licensed in Florida. Rates vary, with a monthly room rate plus a care plan charge to be considered.
While some assisted living facilities provide memory care as an option, most are not licensed to provide skilled nursing services like wound care, administration and management of intravenous medications, post-surgical monitoring and recovery support, physical therapy following joint replacement or stroke, occupational therapy to restore daily function after a neurological event, speech therapy for swallowing disorders or aphasia and management of complex medication regimens involving multiple conditions.
How to Evaluate the Quality of a Nursing Home or Skilled Nursing Center
Quality ratings tell you how well it does it. The federal Care Compare database publishes star ratings for every Medicare-certified skilled nursing center in the country, based on health inspection results, staffing levels and clinical quality outcome measures. A five-star overall rating reflects sustained high performance across all three categories.
For families evaluating skilled nursing care in Jacksonville, the quality measures section of Care Compare is particularly useful — it tracks outcomes like rates of mobility improvement, rates of re-hospitalization within 30 days, and performance on pain management and infection prevention. These are the numbers that reflect what actually happens to patients and residents, not just what a center claims about itself.
River Garden holds a five-star CMS rating and has received the Governor’s Gold Seal Award eleven times — the Florida Health Care Association’s recognition of excellence in care quality, staffing and resident outcomes. Those ratings reflect more than 80 years of sustained commitment to the people River Garden serves.
River Garden Also Can Be a Short-Term Solution for Anyone Recovering from Surgery, Stroke or Illness
River Garden provides skilled nursing care across multiple levels of need. The care center serves patients of all faiths, and can help those who live independently in the community or in an assisted living facility. The goal is to return a person to their home whenever possible.
Please contact us with your questions. River Garden’s team is available to talk through the options and help your family find the right fit. You can call (904) 260.1818 or contact us through our website www.rivergarden.org
Learn more about our skilled nursing and senior care services or find us on Google Maps.