Quick answer: A nursing home gives 24-hour skilled nursing care for people with serious medical needs. Assisted living gives help with daily tasks like bathing, meals, and medications in a homelike setting, with limited nursing. If your parent needs mostly daily support, assisted living near New Richmond, WI is often the better fit.
Choosing between the two can feel heavy, especially after a hospital stay or a fall. The names sound alike, but the care, the setting, and the way each is paid for are quite different. This guide lays out the differences in plain terms so you can ask better questions.
What is the difference between a nursing home and assisted living?
| Nursing home | Assisted living | |
| Who it is for | People with serious medical needs who need skilled nursing around the clock | People who need help with daily tasks but are medically stable |
| Typical care | Skilled nursing, therapy, wound care, 24-hour medical oversight | Help with bathing, dressing, meals, medications, and reminders |
| Nursing care limits | Nursing is the core service | In Wisconsin, a community-based residential facility (CBRF) can provide up to three hours of nursing care per week per resident |
| Setting | Often larger and more clinical | Often a private room in a homelike setting |
| Medicare | May cover a limited stay after a qualifying hospital stay | Does not cover room, board, or daily care |
| Long-term payment | Medicaid or private pay | Private pay, long-term care insurance, and in some cases state programs |
Sources: Wisconsin DHS (P-01765), Nolo (Medicare skilled nursing rules).
What is a CBRF in Wisconsin?
Many assisted living homes in Wisconsin are licensed as a community-based residential facility, or CBRF. A CBRF serves five or more unrelated adults. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, a CBRF can provide up to three hours of nursing care per week (Wisconsin DHS, P-01765). If your parent needs more skilled nursing than that, a nursing home may be the safer choice.
How do you know which one fits your parent?
Assisted living may fit if your parent:
- Needs help with bathing, dressing, meals, or medications
- Is medically stable, with a doctor managing any conditions
- Would do better with company and routine than alone at home
- Can move with limited help, such as a walker or one caregiver
A nursing home may fit if your parent:
- Needs skilled nursing every day, such as wound care or IV treatment
- Needs more than one person to help with moving or transfers
- Has complex medical needs that change often
- Is leaving the hospital with a doctor’s order for rehab or skilled care
If you are unsure, ask your parent’s doctor or the hospital discharge planner for a recommendation, and ask for it in writing. They know your parent’s medical needs best.
What are your assisted living options in New Richmond and St. Croix County?
Families in New Richmond, St. Croix County, and nearby towns such as Star Prairie, Somerset, Baldwin, Hudson, and Amery can look at nursing homes, larger assisted living communities, and small homes. Each has trade-offs, so it helps to see more than one in person.
Legacy Pines Assisted Living & Memory Care is a small assisted living and memory care home at 1164 Business Hwy 64 in New Richmond, Wisconsin, with 8 residents, private rooms and bathrooms, and awake staff day and night. A registered nurse monitors residents’ health.
How is each type of care paid for?
Medicare. Medicare may cover a short stay in a skilled nursing facility, but only after a hospital stay of at least three days as an inpatient, and when the stay starts within 30 days of leaving the hospital. Coverage is limited to 100 days per benefit period, with a daily copay from day 21 (Nolo, 2026). Medicare does not cover custodial care, which is help with daily tasks, and that is most of what assisted living provides. Confirm current rules at Medicare.gov.
Medicaid and Family Care. Wisconsin’s Family Care program may help pay for long-term care for people who qualify. Ask each home whether it accepts it.
Private pay and long-term care insurance. Many families pay privately, and some use long-term care insurance. Ask the insurer what it covers and how to start a claim.
Veterans benefits. Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for help. The St. Croix County Veteran Services office can explain what is available.
What should you ask any home before you decide?
These questions work for any nursing home or assisted living:
- What type of license do you hold, and what care does it allow?
- Is a staff member awake and on site overnight?
- What does the nurse do, and how often is the nurse in the building?
- What needs would mean my parent has to move out?
- How often is my parent’s care reassessed, and who decides?
- How much notice do you need or give if something changes?
- What is included in the monthly fee, and what costs extra?
- What can change the monthly fee over time?
Frequently asked questions
Is assisted living in New Richmond cheaper than a nursing home?
It often is, but the answer depends on the home and the care your parent needs. Ask each one what is included, and compare the same level of care.
Does Medicare pay for assisted living?
No. Medicare does not pay for room, board, or daily personal care in assisted living (Nolo, 2026). It may help with doctor visits and some medical services.
Can a parent with dementia live in assisted living in Wisconsin?
Often yes, especially in the earlier stages, if the home is set up for memory care and the license allows it. Ask about wandering, nighttime staffing, and what would trigger a move.
My parent is in the hospital now. What should I do?
Ask the discharge planner or social worker about next steps, and ask for their recommendation in writing. Start touring soon, since hospital discharges can move fast.
What if my parent’s needs change after moving in?
Care is usually reassessed on a schedule or when something changes. Ask what would mean a higher level of care or a move to a different setting.
Visit or contact Legacy Pines Assisted Living & Memory Care in New Richmond, WI
If you are looking for assisted living or memory care near New Richmond, Wisconsin, we would be glad to hear from you, answer your questions, and show you the home.
Address: 1164 Business Hwy 64, New Richmond, WI 54017
Phone: (507) 459-4190
Email: angela@legacypines.org
You can also see pricing and care levels on our website.
SOURCES
Wisconsin Department of Health Services, “Community-Based Residential Facilities,” P-01765 (2026). Nolo, “Medicare Coverage of Skilled Nursing Facility Care” (2026). Medicare.gov (2026).
