Tulsa Senior AdvisorWhat usually starts a senior care search in Tulsa?
The most common triggers are a discharge from a Saint Francis, Hillcrest, Ascension St. John or OSU Medical Center hospital, a fall, a new dementia diagnosis, a family caregiver reaching exhaustion, or savings running low.
Each guide below starts from that moment and lists the steps in order, with the Oklahoma rules and phone numbers that apply.
Who can help us figure out the next step for free?
The Area Agency on Aging for your county (INCOG for Tulsa, Creek and Osage, Grand Gateway for Rogers, EODD for Wagoner and Okmulgee) gives free information and assistance, and a senior advisor can walk through licensed options; both are free to families.
If anyone is in danger, call 911. Suspected abuse or neglect goes to Oklahoma Human Services at 1-800-522-3511.
What if our situation is not listed here?
Start with what help is needed and when: list the daily tasks your parent can no longer do safely, note whether help is needed at night, and check what the budget can sustain for two to three years.
Those three answers usually point to one or two Oklahoma license types, and the directory then shows which licensed providers exist near you.
How fast do decisions usually have to be made?
After a hospital stay, often within a day or two; in most other situations families have weeks, and using that time to read state records and tour makes for better decisions.
Even in a rush, you can check a facility's OSDH file in minutes.
Situations guides
When a Tulsa hospital says it's time to go
Step by step for families facing a discharge from Saint Francis, Hillcrest, Ascension St. John or OSU Medical Center: rehab, home health or a move.
Read →When a parent can't safely live alone
Signs, first steps and the realistic options for Tulsa-area families: help at home, adult day care, residential care homes and assisted living.
Read →After a dementia diagnosis
Legal, financial and care steps after an Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis in Oklahoma, and how to evaluate Tulsa-area memory care using the state disclosure form.
Read →When the family caregiver is running out of strength
Respite, adult day care, PACE, ADvantage and the Area Agencies on Aging: practical help for exhausted family caregivers in the Tulsa area.
Read →When the money is running out
What Tulsa-area families can do when savings for assisted living or home care run low: ADvantage, SoonerCare, VA benefits and conversations to have with the facility.
Read →Caring for a Tulsa-area parent from far away
How adult children living outside Oklahoma can check facilities, use the OSDH public file, line up local help and stay involved in a parent's care.
Read →