Hello @roeder Nice to have you here with all the caregivers on Mayo Connect! I am Scott and I sure am pleased you found our community of caregivers. That said, I was sad to read of your current situation. The decision you face is a tough one.

I am no professional in this area, so I only speak from my own personal experiences.

As to senior services, each state seems to name them something different, but if you look up Office of Aging in your state that would be a good place to begin in general. For instance in Illinois and Chicago the each have a Department of Aging. Also the Federal government has a department within HHS on Aging. At http://www.hhs.gov they have a eldercare locator you can put your zip code in and get local resources. This is not based on quality, rather it is a good place to begin for a listing of all area resources. http://www.Medicare.gov also offers an online system of listing local care facilities, which are certified.

Personally we began with our GP. She was pretty tuned in to which facilities in our area were above average and which had poor reputations to stay away from. I also asked several nurses in our local hospice program and the geriatric unit at our hospital. They, too, knew who was best in providing care and just as important, which ones to avoid like the plague!

You might also find some ideas through your state chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Their website is at http://www.alz.org If I remember correctly they have links there to their state chapers around the US.

What resources have you tried so far?