State unveils public tool comparing assisted living facilities

Minnesotans looking at assisted living options now have a new tool to compare facilities and help make a decision.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and Minnesota Board on Aging announced on Monday the state’s new Assisted Living Report Card is officially live.

The agencies worked together with the University of Minnesota School of Public Health to create the tool, which is modeled after the state’s Nursing Home Report Card and was authorized by state lawmakers back in 2019.

It allows the public to search for facilities within certain areas of the state and shows comparisons of those facilities’ ratings on quality of life, family satisfaction, resident health, safety and staffing, as well as the facilities’ license status.

While some of the assisted living ratings — resident health, safety and staffing — aren’t yet displayed due to a lack of information, DHS says the report card will expand next year to add more facilities and ratings based on MDH’s licensing surveys and investigations. Currently, it displays quality of life and satisfaction ratings based on resident and family surveys.

“Looking for an assisted living residence for yourself or a loved one can be stressful and challenging,” DHS Commissioner Jodi Harpstead said. “We hope that this tool will help people make this important choice, recognizing that there are many factors to consider.”

Nearly 63,000 Minnesotans live in more than 2,200 licensed assisted living facilities across Minnesota, according to DHS. The new report card currently features ratings for about 20% of those facilities, mainly the larger ones, which house about half of the Minnesotans in assisted living.

For more information or to view the Assisted Living Report Card, click here.