You may or may not be aware that for residents of Washington State, specifically those who received, or who are eligible for Medicaid, can participate in Washington’s Specialized Dementia Care Program, and there is a facility contracted to provide this care in Bellingham.
(You may return to, or visit Assisted Living Directory’s Bellingham page for more information, and facilities.)
First things first, the best way to learn about this program is through the State’s Aging and Long Term Care Support Administration site, where they have a very thorough page and overview of the State’s Dementia Care Program for Assisted Living Facilities.
This page offers several sections, and sub-pages that detail a number of items, including:
- Introduction to the Specialized Dementia Care Program
- Find an assisted living facility that offers the program
- Alternatives if the program is not available in your area
There are 3 eligibility requirements, as detailed on the “Introduction to” page that will let you know if you might qualify.
The site’s page looks like this:
Essentially, you need to be receiving, or be eligible for Medicaid, you need to have Dementia (and this can be in a number of forms, such as: Vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, Pick’s disease, among others).
You also need to have an assessment done by a DSHS assigned case manager.
There are also requirements for facilities in terms of what they are required to offer. These are also detailed on the introduction page.
So, how does someone find a contracted, or participating facility in Bellingham (or anywhere else in Washington)?
There is a good .pdf list on the DSHS site that lists the contracted facilities statewide. At this time, there is only one in Bellingham, which is:
Highgate Senior Living
PH: 360 -671-1459
The full list is here:
https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/long-term-care-professionals-providers
