An adult family home is a private residence licensed to provide 24-hour care for 2–6 residents. A nursing facility is a healthcare institution with 40–200+ residents, around-the-clock medical staff, and a hospital-adjacent care model. AFHs are smaller, more residential, less clinical. We are licensed by the state’s social services department, not the health department. We are not a step down from a nursing facility — we are a different kind of place entirely.

Assisted living communities typically house 40–200 residents in apartment-style units with shared dining rooms and common spaces. Maple Grove is one house with six residents. We share one kitchen. We eat at one table. Care ratios in assisted living are typically one caregiver to 10–20 residents during the day; ours is one to three or one to six. The difference is significant.

Most Maple Grove residents pay between $7,800 and $10,500 per month, depending on care level. The rate is set when you sign the contract and only changes if your parent’s care level changes — which is documented and discussed before any change. We are private-pay; we accept long-term care insurance reimbursement.

Medicare does not pay for long-term residential care; it covers medical services received while at Maple Grove (doctor visits, hospice, etc.) at its usual rates. We are not in the Washington Medicaid network. Long-term care insurance, if you have a policy, generally reimburses you for our monthly fee at the policy’s daily-benefit rate; we will work with your insurance carrier.

During waking hours (typically 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.), we maintain one caregiver per three residents minimum; often it’s one to two. Overnight, one caregiver is awake and present in the home, with Sarah and David next door and on call. We never leave the home unstaffed.

Yes. We encourage it. Bring the bed, the dresser, the chair, the photos, the quilt, the lamp. The room becomes theirs. We have furniture available if a resident arrives without their own, but most families bring at least a few familiar pieces.

Pets are welcome to visit. We do not currently host resident-owned pets full-time, but several residents have a dog or cat that comes to visit weekly, and one family brings their golden retriever to every visit. If your parent has a pet they cannot live without, talk to us — we will think about it together.

Most of our residents experience increasing care needs over the years they live with us. We adjust the care plan and discuss any cost change with the family in advance. We are licensed for full assisted living and memory care, and we partner with hospice when end-of-life care is appropriate. Many of our residents live with us until they pass, in their own room.

Sarah is a registered nurse and lives next door. For acute emergencies, we call 911 first and the family immediately after — Overlake Hospital is a six-minute drive. For non-emergency concerns, we coordinate with the resident’s primary physician directly. Our medication and incident logs are available to families at any time.

Yes. There are no visiting hours. The front door is open during the day; you can stop by, stay for a meal, take your parent out for an afternoon, come for Sunday dinner. We ask only that you give us a heads-up if you are bringing a group of more than four, so the kitchen can plan.

We do accept respite stays of two to six weeks when a room is available, and we keep one room flexible for that purpose when we can. The rate is slightly higher than the standard monthly fee because of the short-stay logistics. Call us with your dates and we will tell you what’s possible.

Schedule a visit. Bring a list of questions. Plan on 45 minutes. You’ll meet Sarah or David, walk through the entire house, meet at least one caregiver, and see the rooms that are currently available. If it feels right, we’ll talk about the next steps — a clinical assessment, a draft care plan, a contract review, and a move-in date.