Types of senior care around Pittsburgh

Last verified: October 2026

What types of senior care are available around Pittsburgh?

Six kinds of care cover most situations: personal care homes and assisted living residences (231 licensed in our seven counties), secured dementia units inside them (71), nursing homes (111), in-home care and home health, independent living, and hospice.

The right one depends on medical needs, safety, money and where family lives.

How do you know which type of care someone needs?

Start from the daily needs: help with bathing, dressing or medications points to a personal care home or in-home care, wandering with dementia to a secured unit, daily skilled nursing to a nursing home, and a life-limiting illness with comfort goals to hospice.

A physician's evaluation and an Area Agency on Aging assessment can settle disagreements within a family.

Which type of care is most common around Pittsburgh?

Personal care homes dominate residential care in the region, with 217 licensed against 14 assisted living residences, and nursing homes hold 14,010 certified beds across 111 homes, more than many families expect.

In-home care is the largest category of all, but it is spread across hundreds of agencies, so the Medicare-certified ones are the only ones listed in public bulk data.

How are care types licensed differently in Pennsylvania?

Personal care homes and assisted living residences hold DHS licenses, nursing homes hold Department of Health licenses and CMS certification, home health agencies and hospices are certified by Medicare, and independent living needs no care license at all.

Care-type guides

• Assisted living and personal care homes around Pittsburgh — What assisted living means in Pennsylvania, how 217 personal care homes and 14 assisted living residences around Pittsburgh differ, and who pays.
• Memory care around Pittsburgh — Memory care in Pennsylvania means a licensed Secure Dementia Care Unit or Special Care Unit. 71 Pittsburgh-area homes have one.
• Nursing homes around Pittsburgh — How nursing homes work in Pennsylvania: DOH licensing, CMS ratings, Medicare rehab and Medicaid long-term care. 111 homes in seven counties.
• In-home care around Pittsburgh — Non-medical home care vs. Medicare home health in Pennsylvania, what home care costs, and the programs that help pay: OPTIONS, Community HealthChoices, LIFE.
• Independent living around Pittsburgh — Independent living is housing, not licensed care, in Pennsylvania. How it differs from personal care homes and how to pay for outside help.
• Hospice care around Pittsburgh — How hospice works in Pennsylvania, what Medicare covers, and the 42 Medicare-certified hospices with offices in the Pittsburgh region.

Care types: what each is and is not