West Virginia Assisted Living

SeniorLiving FAQ

By David Besnette


In this research guide you will learn how to get a COMPLETE, non-commercial, Statewide list of Assisted Living & Senior Living Facilities Provided by the State of West Virginia

You will learn how to: 

  • View Inspections, Investigations and Survey Reports for each facility
  • Access Data on ALL Assisted Living Communities in West Virginia
  • Learn which facilities offer Alzheimer’s and Memory Care
  • View direct contact information (data omitted by most commercial Senior Care sites)

The information that you will access is provided through official State of West Virginia sources, so it should be considered extremely trustworthy and reliable.

How To Find Assisted Living Facilities in West Virginia

The State of West Virginia’s Department of Health & Human Resources has a section that provides data on all licensed senior care homes and communities statewide.  This Facility Search tool can be found on the Office of Health Facility Licensure & Certification page.

The search tool is extremely easy to use, and looks like this:

Facility Lookup

West Virginia’s Safest Facilities:


Safe Facilities

This tool allows you to access data on a number of different facility types, by facility name, or by county search, including:

  • Assisted Living Facilities
  • Alzheimer’s Care Homes
  • Hospice Care
  • Nursing Homes
  • Rural Health
  • Residential Care
  • & Many More
West Virginia Residents:


Availability

How the State of Virginia defines Assisted Living Residences and Residential Care Communities is unique from other States.

Assisted Living Definitions

Data Provided Through the Facility Search Tool

They type of data provided through the DHHR Facility Lookup Tool is in-depth, and extremely useful if you are conducting facility research.

For example, doing a search for Assisted Living Residence for the Facility Type, and then choosing a county, you’ll be greeted to a list of all facilities of that type within that county. 

The list will look like this:

Facility list for WV

Choosing a facility will take you to a dedicated section for that facility with several tabs of information including

  • Home
  • Health Investigations
  • Life Safety Inspections
  • Location (an interactive map will be displayed)

The Home section offers general details about the facility including it’s:

  • Legal Name
  • Facility Type (aka Assisted Living Residence – Small Assisted Living)
  • Administrator’s Name
  • State ID
  • Status
  • Funding (Private Pay, Not for Profit, etc)
  • Contact Information and Telephone
  • License Information, including Effective and Expiration Date
  • Bed Information (including Licensed Beds, and Certified Beds)

Health Investigations

A very useful and important tab/section included with each facility’s details is a Health Investigations summary and Completed Surveys.

The page will look something like this for each facility:

Health Investigations West Virginia

You’ll notice the types of reports you will have access to.  These include:

  • Re-Licensure Surveys
  • Follow Up Visits
  • Complaints

You are able to click on each report for further details about the investigation, survey or complaint.

Life Safety Inspections

The next section offers information and reports relevant to Life Safety Code Surveys and Health Inspections.

Again, the page lists each inspection or survey in reverse chronological order, whereas you may select an individual report to view details specific to that survey.

The details page will tell you how many deficiencies were found.

deficiencies

Why Inspections & Surveys Data is Useful

As we all know, Senior Living facilities will always put their best foot forward in their brochures and marketing materials.   It’s safe to say that almost never will they put the results of their inspections or complaints records on their websites or in their glossy pamphlets. 

Allowing the public direct access to this information provides a way for consumers to assess how well each facility is operated and managed. 

This is not to say every facility has to be, or will be perfect all the time.  Things happen and issues come up.  However, what I would suggest is most important is HOW the facility responds (and how quickly) to issues and complaints.

This information offers you the foundation for asking direct, and constructive questions about the facility, and how it is managed and run.

Facility Location

This Facility Lookup tool offers a map of the facility’s location, with a balloon, or window that allows you to get directions from wherever you are, to the facility.   

I always like to look at the map of the facility’s location.  You can really get in close with google maps, and look at what is in the area in terms of Health Care, Dining, Shopping, Parks and More.

Map view of the Facility

Street View

If you have the time, you can take the mapping experience an extra step to the Street View feature provided through Google Maps. 

To do so, take the little orange “man” in the left side of the map (just above the plus and negative zoom in/out signs), and drag that “man” onto the map.   You should be able to select the street in front of the facility.

Street View

From there, you should be ‘virtually escorted’ to the street, and by clicking the arrows overlaid on the map, you can ‘drive’ around the area where the facility is located.   

West Virginia is one of the very best states to research Assisted Living & Senior Care Options in.    The State of Virginia offers a great number of databases and resources freely accessible to the public, thereby allowing you to bypass the typical commercial senior care site that often times omits important information, or are infrequently updated.

Additional Help & Resources

WV Senior Care – Another facility search option for West Virginia

West Virginia Health Care Association – The Largest Trade Association representing Assisted Living Communities and Nursing Facilities in West Virginia

West Virginia Residents:


Availability

2 thoughts on “West Virginia Assisted Living

  1. Himan Bhatia

    Hi, David – I am in process of developing senior assisted living facility in WV, would like to speak to you wrt your professional services. Could you please reach out to me or provide your contact info?

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