Assisted Living in Bartlett, TN: Costs and Communities

Saint Francis Bartlett Medical Center on Kate Bond Road is the one hospital in Bartlett, TN, in Medicare's hospital data. It's an acute care hospital with emergency services. The hospital says it has 196 beds, an intensive care unit (ICU) and a 24-hour emergency room.

Two Medicare-certified agencies. Medicare pays for home health visits for some people who are homebound and need skilled care part-time or now and then. In Bartlett, TN, Advantage Home Care has held that certification since 2012, and Centerwell Home Health since 1983.

Two license names. Tennessee's rule calls assisted living an assisted care living facility. That's a place that takes in mostly older adults and gives them a home plus care and services. The Health Facilities Commission has issued these licenses since July 1, 2022. Another Tennessee license for this kind of home is the home for the aged. It gives room, board and personal services to four or more people who aren't related.

Who can stay, and notice before a move. An assisted care community can't take in or keep a resident who needs continuous nursing care. The same goes for someone whose needs it can't safely meet. If a move is needed, a resident gets 30 days' written notice before a transfer or discharge. The one exception is when a doctor orders the move for a higher level of care.

Questions that follow from those rules, for a tour in Bartlett, TN:

• Does the state's search show the license as Licensed, On Probation or Inactive?
• Does the community have liability insurance, and with which company?
• If a move is ever needed, how is the 30 days' written notice given?
• At American House Bartlett, how do respite stays work?
• At Hearthside Senior Living of Bartlett, how are scheduled rides set up?

• TennCare CHOICES. TennCare is Tennessee's Medicaid program. Its CHOICES benefit table lists an assisted care living facility service. The table describes it as help with personal care, homemaker tasks and taking medicine. The member pays for room and board. The service is marked for CHOICES Groups 2 and 3. Those groups take in people 65 and older, and adults 21 and older with a disability, who meet the program's care rules. If you aren't on TennCare yet, the Aging Commission of the Mid-South can help you apply. Current members start with their health plan.
• Long-term care insurance. Tennessee's Department of Commerce and Insurance notes that the types of care a policy covers may be limited. What you pay for the policy can also go up over time. A Partnership policy doesn't qualify anyone for Medicaid by itself. But it generally lets a person keep savings and property equal to the benefits it paid without affecting their Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid's other rules still apply.
• VA Aid and Attendance. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adds this to a VA pension. It's for a veteran who needs another person's help with daily tasks like bathing, eating and dressing. Net worth has to be $163,699 or less through Nov. 30, 2026. VA also has wartime service rules. At the rates in effect since Dec. 1, 2025, a veteran with no dependents can get up to $29,093 a year.
• Income, savings and a home sale. These are what private pay draws on, alone or with a policy.
• PACE. TennCare's page for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly says members must live in Hamilton County. It names no other county.

Free Medicare counseling. For Shelby, Fayette, Lauderdale and Tipton counties, the Aging Commission of the Mid-South runs Tennessee's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Its counselors help with Medicare plans and drug coverage. They also help people apply for Extra Help.

• Aging Commission of the Mid-South. It's a Shelby County Government department. It's also the Area Agency on Aging and Disability for Fayette, Lauderdale, Shelby and Tipton counties. To get the commission's in-home help, which is paid with public funds, you start with its call center. That help includes meals brought to the door and personal care. Staff answer questions about local services no matter how much money a caller has.
• OPTIONS for Community Living. This state-funded program has no income limit, but people above a certain income pay a share of the cost. It's for Tennessee residents 60 or older who need a hand with daily tasks. Adults 18 and older with a documented physical impairment can qualify, too.
• The long-term care ombudsman. For Shelby County, the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA) runs the state's Memphis Delta district program. Its staff and trained volunteers visit residents and look into complaints. Before a move, they can explain how admission works. They speak up for residents.
• Complaints and the sign at the door. Every assisted care community has to post a sign at its main entrance. It says an older person who may face abuse, neglect or exploitation can get help from Adult Protective Services. The Health Facilities Commission takes complaints about licensed communities online, by phone or by mail. For concerns about residents' rights, its complaint page points to the ombudsman.

Checked Oct. 16, 2026.

• CareScout, Cost of Care Survey 2025 data tables, 2024 data tables, Cost of Care calculator and survey method
• U.S. Census Bureau, metropolitan area delineation, July 2023
• Tennessee Health Facilities Commission, home page, Find A Health Care Facility, Health Facility Reports and File A Complaint
• Rules of the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission, chapter 0720-26, Assisted Care Living Facilities, chapter 0720-21, Homes for the Aged and chapter 0720-27, Home Care Organizations
• TennCare, CHOICES, CHOICES Benefit Table and PACE
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Aid and Attendance, pension rates and pension eligibility
• Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Long-Term Care Awareness Month and Long Term Care Insurance Partnership notice
• Medicare.gov, Long-term care and Home health services; CMS, Hospital General Information and Home Health Care Agencies
• Shelby County Government, Aging Commission of the Mid-South, In-Home Services and SHIP
• Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging, Long-Term Care Ombudsman and district offices; MIFA Senior Programs
• Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett
• Community and home care details from each one's own pages