Assisted Living and Board and Care Placement in Gardena

Gardena was incorporated on September 11, 1930, when the rural communities of Gardena, Moneta and Strawberry Park joined into one city. There is almost no open land left. The city's 2023 Land Use Plan calls Gardena virtually built out and counts only a few vacant acres.

The same plan says single-family residential is the predominant land use, covering about a third of the city, and calls those single-family areas the backbone of the community. Shops and services line Artesia Boulevard, Redondo Beach Boulevard, Crenshaw and Western Avenue, and industry sits mostly north of Rosecrans Avenue.

For a family looking for care, that points to a familiar pattern. Board and care homes (small licensed homes that California calls RCFEs) are houses on residential streets, and Gardena has a great many residential streets. Larger assisted living and memory care communities need bigger sites, so a search for one may also take in neighboring cities.

Gardena has two hospitals inside its city limits, and they do different jobs.

Memorial Hospital of Gardena, on Redondo Beach Boulevard, has an emergency department and lists sub-acute care and rehabilitation among its services. Kindred Hospital South Bay, on 155th Street, describes itself as a long-term acute care facility with 54 beds, where patients may stay longer for respiratory, wound or rehabilitation care.

Either way, the question at the end of the stay is the same: can Mom go home, and if not, where? Hamssa has worked with families whose relative was in a hospital or a skilled nursing facility at the time, and has coordinated with case workers and social workers during discharge. She does not place people in skilled nursing, which is a different kind of facility. Hospital discharge placement explains what she can do.

1. 1

   The discharge date

   Ask the case manager or social worker for the expected day, even if it may change.

2. 2

   What care is needed

   Write down what staff tell you about help with walking, bathing, medications, oxygen, wound care or memory.

3. 3

   A monthly budget

   A rough figure is enough. It decides which homes belong on the list.

4. 4

   Where family lives

   Hamssa builds the short list around the people who will visit, in Gardena or a nearby city.

5. 5

   Who can tour

   She schedules the tours and goes with you, so pick the relative who can get away on short notice.

The City of Gardena runs Senior Services through its Human Services Division, with nutrition and supportive services, classes and outings. It also operates a Day Care Center that the city describes as a California state licensed adult day program for seniors with dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

For some families, a day program plus help at home is enough for now. For others, it is a bridge while they look for a home, or while a caregiver recovers. If you need a short stay somewhere, see respite care placement. Countywide, the Los Angeles County Aging & Disabilities Department has an information and assistance line for older adults.

Hamssa's placement help is free for families. The fee page explains how that works. The home charges a monthly rate that varies by home and level of care. Families who are worried about affording care often ask about Medi-Cal. Hamssa does not arrange or process Medi-Cal, but she can talk through which homes may fit your budget, and our guide to the Medi-Cal Assisted Living Waiver explains that program.

She refers families only to homes licensed by the State of California that she has toured herself, after checking each one’s licensing record for citations and complaints. The California Department of Social Services licenses and monitors them. Our guide shows how to check an RCFE license.

If your relative is on hospice, Hamssa has helped families in that situation find a board and care home. Read about hospice and board and care, then call, text or email her.