Sarasota Senior AdvisorWhat do Sarasota Senior Advisor's guides cover?
Our 12 guides cover Florida's assisted living licenses and the new memory care law, life plan community contracts, costs and Medicaid, hospital discharge, hurricane planning and local help in Sarasota and Manatee, each sourced to Florida law, Florida agencies or federal data.
New guides publish on a regular schedule; the newest appears in the footer of every page. Each guide opens with a short answer, includes at least one data table, and ends with the questions families ask about it.
How are the guides different from the rest of the site?
The rules, costs and directory pages are reference material; the guides take one situation or decision at a time and walk through it the way a family would face it, linking back to the reference pages for the full rules.
If a guide and a reference page ever disagree, the reference page is updated first and the guide is corrected.
Leaving the Hospital in Sarasota or Bradenton: Choosing a Rehab Bed Fast
When the case manager says discharge is tomorrow, families have hours to choose a skilled nursing facility. Here are the nursing homes nearest each local hospital, with CMS ratings.
Read the guide →October 22, 2026The Six-Bed Homes: Small Residential Assisted Living in Sarasota and Manatee
39 of the two counties' licensed ALFs care for 16 or fewer residents, many in ordinary houses. Same license as the big buildings, very different days. What the state data shows.
Read the guide →October 17, 2026Sarasota vs. Bradenton Assisted Living: A Side-by-Side From State Records
Families on the county line often tour in both cities. Here is how assisted living with Sarasota and Bradenton addresses compares on AHCA's own data.
Read the guide →October 12, 2026Florida Medicaid Long-Term Care in 2026: The Numbers Sarasota Families Need
DCF's April 2026 standards set the income caps, asset limits and spousal allowances for nursing home and home care Medicaid. Here they are in one place, with what each means.
Read the guide →October 7, 2026Nursing Home Staffing in Sarasota and Manatee: What CMS's Numbers Show
Staffing is the single best predictor of nursing home quality families can see before a tour. Here is how the two counties' homes compare on CMS's payroll data.
Read the guide →October 2, 2026PACE in Manatee and Sarasota: What AHCA's Report Shows About Stratum PACE
Florida has an all-inclusive Medicare and Medicaid program for frail seniors, and one organization is approved to run it here. The state's own numbers show how small it still is.
Read the guide →September 27, 2026Which Sarasota and Manatee ALFs Report a Fixed Generator
Florida's emergency power rules require nursing homes and ALFs to keep residents cool after an outage. AHCA's profiles show which facilities report a fixed generator on site.
Read the guide →September 22, 2026LNS, ECC and LMH: Which Sarasota and Manatee ALFs Hold Florida's Specialty Licenses
A Florida assisted living license can carry add-ons that change who a facility can serve and for how long. Here is how many local facilities hold each, city by city.
Read the guide →September 17, 2026North Port Grew 29 Percent. Its Licensed Senior Care Did Not.
North Port is now Sarasota County's largest city, but AHCA's records show only a handful of assisted living facilities there. What that means for families in south county.
Read the guide →September 12, 2026The Nine Life Plan Communities Florida Lists in Sarasota and Manatee
Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation keeps the official list of continuing care retirement communities. Here are the nine in our two counties and what the state records show about each.
Read the guide →September 7, 2026What 481 AHCA Inspection Visits Say About Sarasota and Manatee Assisted Living
We read every visit AHCA posts for the 79 larger assisted living facilities in the two counties. Here is what inspectors cite most, and how to read a report yourself.
Read the guide →September 2, 2026Florida's New Memory Care License: What Sarasota Families Should Ask Now
Chapter 2026-102 makes memory care a licensed service in Florida. The rules are not written yet, so here is what to ask a Sarasota or Bradenton facility in the meantime.
Read the guide →