What does Pittsburgh Senior Advisor do?
Pittsburgh Senior Advisor is a free referral and advisory service for families choosing senior care in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Butler, Washington, Beaver, Fayette and Armstrong counties: we publish the state's own licensing and inspection records for all 231 licensed personal care homes and assisted living residences, CMS ratings for 111 nursing homes, and a local advisor helps you narrow the list.
Communities pay us a referral fee when a family we helped moves in, which is how the service stays free to you. We say that here rather than in the fine print because it is the first thing you should know about any placement service.
How is senior care licensed in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania licenses two kinds of residential care through the Department of Human Services: personal care homes under 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2600 and assisted living residences under Chapter 2800. Nursing homes are a separate category licensed by the Department of Health and rated by CMS.
Around Pittsburgh the split is lopsided: 217 personal care homes against 14 assisted living residences, because only a Chapter 2800 license allows the words “assisted living.” Many places families call assisted living are licensed personal care homes. How the two licenses differ →
Where is memory care around Pittsburgh?
71 homes in the seven counties hold a DHS-approved Secure Dementia Care Unit or Special Care Unit, with 2,380 secured beds; Pennsylvania has no separate memory-care license, so the unit on a home's certificate is what to look for.
Every licensed dementia unit, sortable →
What does senior care cost in Pennsylvania?
CareScout's 2025 survey puts Pennsylvania's median at $6,352 a month for an assisted living community, about $34 an hour for a non-medical home caregiver and $11,954 a month for a semi-private nursing home room. No Pittsburgh-specific figure is published, and no source publishes a memory-care median.
Towns with their own page
- Pittsburgh (Allegheny)
- Greensburg (Westmoreland)
- Uniontown (Fayette)
- Monroeville (Allegheny)
- Butler (Butler)
- Washington (Washington)
- Kittanning (Armstrong)
- Bridgeville (Allegheny)
- Canonsburg (Washington)
- Latrobe (Westmoreland)
- McKeesport (Allegheny)
- McMurray (Washington)
- Monongahela (Washington)
- North Huntingdon (Westmoreland)
- Verona (Allegheny)
- Wexford (Allegheny)
- Beaver Falls (Beaver)
- Cheswick (Allegheny)
- Coraopolis (Allegheny)
- Cranberry Township (Butler)
- Ligonier (Westmoreland)
- Sewickley (Allegheny)
- Zelienople (Butler)
- Allison Park (Allegheny)
What a senior advisor does and does not do
| We do | We do not | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to your family | nothing, ever | charge families or take deposits |
| Facility information | show PA DHS and CMS records as published | invent ratings or hide inspection history |
| Recommendations | match licensed homes to care needs and budget | steer you only to homes that pay us |
| Decisions | help you compare and tour | sign contracts or make medical decisions for you |
