Assisted Living in Burbank

A small city, so the map has to stretch

Families call from Magnolia Park, from the Rancho equestrian streets, from the hillside neighborhoods above Glenoaks, from the Media District, and from downtown Burbank. Nearly every one of them starts with the same request, which is something in Burbank, close enough to drop in after work.

We always look inside the city first. But Burbank is about seventeen square miles and a large share of it is studio backlot, industrial, and airport land, not the wide single story residential lots that suit a house licensed for six residents. The result is a supply that is real but thin, and often full.

So the honest version of this search runs a few miles out. North Hollywood and Sun Valley have a considerably deeper stock of licensed six bed homes. Toluca Lake sits right on the line. Glendale adds mid sized communities. For most Burbank families that is still a ten minute drive, which is a shorter visit than a Burbank address on the wrong side of the 5 would be.

Discharges from Providence Saint Joseph

Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center on South Buena Vista Street is where most Burbank placements begin. A fall in the driveway, a stroke, an infection that caused sudden confusion, and then a case manager telling you that going back to the house alone is no longer safe.

If your parent goes to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation first, Medicare may cover part of that stay after a qualifying hospital admission. Use those weeks. A placement chosen while someone is stable is almost always better than one chosen under a Friday discharge deadline.

When the discharge really is in two days, say so at the start. That changes which homes we call, because the question stops being which home is best in the abstract and becomes which good home can accept your father this week.

What Burbank families are choosing between

The choice tends to come down to the size and rhythm of the setting rather than the amenity list. It helps to picture your parent in each one at four in the afternoon, when the day is long and the building is quiet.

• Licensed six bed board and care homes in Burbank residential streets and, in greater number, in North Hollywood and Sun Valley, where far fewer residents usually share each caregiver than in a large community, and meals cooked in a kitchen
• Larger assisted living communities in Burbank and neighboring Glendale, with dining rooms, activity calendars, therapy space, and more daily social contact
• Secured memory care for a parent who is exit seeking, awake at night, or no longer safe behind an unlocked door, including some small homes that hold a dementia care waiver
• Skilled nursing for someone who needs daily licensed nursing rather than help with bathing, dressing, and medication reminders

Costs, and the questions worth asking on a tour

Board and care in and around Burbank commonly runs about $3,500 to $5,800 a month, larger communities about $4,500 to $7,000, and secured memory care generally adds $1,000 to $2,000. Those are typical market ranges for the local market, moving with care level, room type, and whether the room is shared. They are not our prices.

Larger communities usually quote base rent plus a level of care fee set by an assessment, and that fee is where budgets break. Ask for it in writing, and ask what would push it up a tier. Six bed homes more often quote one all in monthly rate, which many families find easier to plan against a pension or Social Security.

• Ask who is awake overnight and how many residents that one caregiver covers
• Ask to see the California license posted in the home and look up its inspection history
• Ask what happens if your parent later needs a two person transfer, or hospice, and whether that means moving again
• Ask how medications are managed, and by whom
• Veterans and surviving spouses should ask us about VA Aid and Attendance before ruling out anything on price

Senior housing options in Burbank

Senior housing near Burbank comes in a few distinct forms, and the words get used loosely enough that families tour the wrong setting first. These are the options open to a Burbank family, in the city and a few minutes past it. Each has a longer guide linked further down this page.

• Assisted living in Burbank: a licensed community with apartments, meals, activities, and staff who help with bathing, dressing, and medication reminders. It fits someone who can no longer manage alone but is not medically fragile.
• Board and care homes, licensed in California as residential care facilities for the elderly: an ordinary house with six or fewer residents, which typically means far fewer residents per caregiver than a large community. Most of the ones serving this area sit on quiet residential streets rather than main roads.
• Memory care: a secured dementia setting with trained staff and doors and outdoor space designed so a resident cannot leave unsafely. Newer purpose built buildings usually handle it better than older converted ones.
• Independent living: apartments with meals, transportation, and a social calendar but no personal care. It fits someone managing well who is tired of maintaining a house.
• Skilled nursing: daily licensed nursing care, overseen by a different state regulator than the settings above. It is the right answer when the need is medical rather than help with daily living.

Keep reading

• Every home in Burbank the state listed as licensed
• How assisted living placement works across Los Angeles
• Board and care homes and RCFEs explained
• Memory care and dementia placement in Los Angeles
• Senior living costs, VA benefits, and ways to pay
• Independent living communities in Los Angeles
• Skilled nursing and nursing home placement
• Assisted living in Glendale
• Assisted living in Sherman Oaks

Questions families ask us

How much does assisted living cost in Burbank?

Burbank sits below the Westside and roughly with the rest of the Verdugo area. A licensed six bed board and care home typically runs about $3,500 to $5,800 a month, and a larger assisted living community commonly runs about $4,500 to $7,000. Secured memory care generally adds roughly $1,000 to $2,000. These are typical market ranges that vary by care level and room type, not our prices.

Are there board and care homes in Burbank?

Some, but fewer than families expect. Burbank is a small, tightly zoned city of about seventeen square miles, and a large part of it is studio, industrial, and airport land rather than the wide residential lots that suit a six bed licensed home. So the supply inside the city limits is real but thin. The practical search almost always extends into North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, Sun Valley, and Glendale, which for most Burbank families is a ten minute drive.

My father is being discharged from Providence Saint Joseph. How quickly can you help?

Usually a short list the same day and tours within two or three. Tell us how he transfers, whether there is any confusion or wandering, what medications are involved, and the monthly budget. Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center on South Buena Vista Street is where most Burbank discharges come from, and we work these on a hospital timeline routinely.

Can my mother stay close enough that I can visit after work?

That is usually the real constraint in Burbank, and it is a fair one. Tell us the cross streets that still count as close, and whether you visit on the way home from the studios, from downtown Burbank, or from the 134. In practice a home in North Hollywood or Toluca Lake is often a shorter drive for a Magnolia Park family than a community on the far side of Glendale.

What is the difference between a six bed home and a larger community?

A six bed home is an ordinary house where far fewer residents usually share each caregiver than in a large community, with home cooked meals and a quiet routine. A larger community has a dining room, an activity calendar, therapy space, and more people to talk to. Quiet suits someone frail or easily overwhelmed. Social suits someone who is still looking for company and structure. We ask about the person before we ask about the building.

Does Medicare pay for assisted living in Burbank?

No. Medicare can cover a short rehabilitation stay in a skilled nursing facility after a qualifying hospital admission, but it does not pay for assisted living, memory care, or board and care. Those are paid privately, through long term care insurance, or with VA benefits such as Aid and Attendance for eligible veterans and surviving spouses. Medi-Cal covers skilled nursing rather than assisted living, and the state Assisted Living Waiver has limited slots and an enrollment list.