Consumer Guide: Glossary for Assisted Living Directories

In Wisconsin, the Division of Quality Assurance licenses and regulates four types of assisted living facilities:

Wisconsin assisted living directories

All assisted living facility types have a directory. Information in the directories comes from the Provider Search tool. The directories list information about each facility:

Where it's located
Who it serves
Who to contact with your questions

You can also reference Choosing an Assisted Living Facility, P-60579 for help comparing facilities.

Terms from assisted living directories

Below, we define terms you may see in the assisted living directories.

Capacity - Licensed capacity of the AFH or CBRF (in other words, the maximum number of residents in care at one time). Capacity in an RCAC means the number of apartments for which they are certified/registered.
Class - How an assisted living facility is licensed based on the law.
- RCAC class options, Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 89, subch. IV and V:
  - Certified - May accept both private pay residents and residents who qualify for Medicaid waiver funding through managed care organizations.
  - Registered - Serve private pay only residents.
- CBRF class options, Wis. Admin. Code § DHS 83.04(2):
  - Class A Ambulatory (AA) - May serve only residents who are ambulatory and are mentally and physically capable of responding to an electronic fire alarm and exiting the facility without any help or verbal or physical prompting.
  - Class A Semi-ambulatory (AS) - May serve only residents who are ambulatory or semi-ambulatory and are mentally and physically capable of responding to an electronic fire alarm and exiting the facility without any help or verbal or physical prompting.
  - Class A Non-ambulatory (ANA) - May serve residents who are ambulatory, semi-ambulatory or non-ambulatory, but only if they are mentally and physically capable of responding to an electronic fire alarm and exiting the facility without any help or verbal or physical prompting.
  - Class C Ambulatory (CA) - May serve only residents who are ambulatory, but one or more of whom are not mentally or physically capable of responding to an electronic fire alarm and exiting the facility without any help or verbal or physical prompting.
  - Class C Semi-ambulatory (CS) - May serve only residents who are ambulatory or semi-ambulatory, but one or more of whom are not physically or mentally capable of responding to an electronic fire alarm and exiting the facility without help or verbal or physical prompting.
  - Class C Non-ambulatory (CNA) - May serve residents who are ambulatory, semi-ambulatory or non-ambulatory, but one or more of whom are not physically or mentally capable of responding to an electronic fire alarm and exiting the facility without help or verbal or physical prompting.
- Class will be blank on AFH directories.
Administrator - The person in charge of operations at an assisted living facility.
Contact Person - The person to contact at each facility.
Facility Name and Address - The formal name of the facility and where the facility is located.
Gender - Whether the facility serves males and/or females.
Initial License - The date the facility was first licensed, certified, or registered.
Licensee Name - Who holds the license to manage the facility. May be a person or business.
Low/High rate - The highest and lowest amounts that people who live in the facility pay each month. Facilities don't have to report these amounts for the directory. Often, how much you pay each month depends on the services you need. It's best to check with the facility for the exact rate.
Mailing Address - Where the Division of Quality Assurance sends all official notices. This may or may not be the same as the facility address.
Phone Number - The number to call to reach the facility.
Specialty Programs - The type of client groups the facility serves. Note: the RCAC directory does not list specialty programs. These facilities mostly serve the advanced aged (60 or older).
Type - What kind of facility it is: AFH, CBRF, or RCAC.