Our experience is that in Personal Care in a private Senior Care facility where we are paying a monthly fee where my Mother has a medicare based health insurance policy for medical and physical therapy when approved pets were allowed and may still be allowed on limited occasions we are permitted to bring Mothers cat in on a daily basis. We do not leave the cat alone with Mother as we are afraid that when Mom uses the bathroom on her own at night her cat under foot could cause her to trip. The cat stayed with Mother her last 2 years in Independent Living on nights I stayed with Mom overnights. We are moving Mother to a new facility where they permit animals to stay but in these circumstances it is a family decision to continue to only have the cat visit with Mother if family is there. The cat is tremendous comfort to Mother and well worth the time it requires to give them a bonding experience.
Riley says "As long as you can take care of the animal", I second that.
Where my sis works animals became a major headache when residents failed to look after them, allowed them to cr*p everywhere (including in the lounge and dining room), and didn't even try to clean up. Staff rebelled, even the animal lovers had enough.
I live in assisted living and in my facility they encourage people to have pets. It is a proven fact - they are good for people, unconditional love and many health benefits. I have had a cat since I first became disabled and had to enter a facility. Thank god for that. As long as you can take care of the animal, there should be no problem. But if you do have a pet, you must do one more thing immediately - make provisions for the pet in the event you become ill, disabled even more or pass away. Naturally I did that from day one and now have peace about my kitty.
There was a man at my mom's skilled nursing facility who had a dog. When that dog passed away, he was allowed to get another. They did accept Medicaid but I don't know if this man was on it. He took care of the dog himself, even taking her outside. The only thing he didn't do was take her to the vet. As far as I know, she was not a certified therapy dog, but I think he was allowed to have her to keep his stress levels down.
My daughter takes a miniature Dachshund to visit her father in a nursing home every day as they don't allow permanent pet residents. But it is private pay, no Medicaid.
When I was looking for an AL facility for my Dad, there were a few that would accept pets so long as they were 10 pounds or less and the resident was able to take care of them.
AL facilities are not Medicaid & usually are private pay and policies vary. Most Medicare/Medicaid nursing homes will not accept pets because of infection control, amongst other reasons.
I am able to take our dog go the nursing home to visit with my wife any time I want to...The residents love to pet the dog as I take her down the hallways...No animals remain overnight.
I have read that some AL's do allow pets, though the ones that I know of currently do not. I do recall of a facility that my aunts lived in for years, had a cat that lived in the NH. The cat was very well loved by the entire facility and would visit all residents throughout the day and night. When that cat died, I don't think they got another one.
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Where my sis works animals became a major headache when residents failed to look after them, allowed them to cr*p everywhere (including in the lounge and dining room), and didn't even try to clean up. Staff rebelled, even the animal lovers had enough.
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Grace + Peace.
Bob