by Bruce Rosenblatt | Nov 2, 2026 | Senior Housing Advice
Every year between January and March I have the same conversation. A family calls, something has happened, and they need a place for Mom in two weeks. We start calling, and the three communities that would genuinely suit her have nothing — not now, and not for months.
Then they ask the question I wish they had asked in October: how long is the waitlist?
Season is the reason. From November through April, Southwest Florida fills up, and senior living fills up with it. Here’s how waitlists actually work here, what being on one does and doesn’t get you, and why the best month to deal with this is the one you’re in.
Why availability tightens when it does
Three things happen at once between November and March.
The population swells. Snowbirds return, and some of them don’t go back. An adult child visiting for the holidays sees something that worries them and starts looking in January. Our inquiry volume more than doubles.
Decisions get made. Families who have been circling the idea all year finally act, often triggered by a holiday visit or a fall. Our September article on what to watch for when parents return covers the signals that start this.
Turnover slows. Fewer residents move out during season.
Demand doubles while supply thins. By February, the apartments left are the ones nobody wanted in November — wrong floor, wrong exposure, wrong size, wrong price.
The three kinds of “waitlist”
They are not the same thing, and communities use the word loosely. Ask which kind you are joining.
1. The CCRC priority list
Continuing care retirement communities — of which Naples has an unusual number — typically keep a formal priority list. You pay a refundable deposit, often [BRUCE: typical local priority deposit range], and you move up as people ahead of you accept or decline units.
This is the most structured version, and the most worth joining early. A good CCRC priority list can run [BRUCE: typical wait times you're seeing locally]. Depositors are usually first to hear about a unit, and the deposit is usually refundable if you change your mind. Ask about that refundability in writing.
2. The rental community interest list
Most rental independent living and assisted living communities keep something softer — a list of interested families they call when a unit opens. Sometimes there’s a small deposit, sometimes nothing.
These move much faster than CCRC lists. A “waitlist” at a rental community often means weeks, not years, and it may apply only to a specific apartment type. Ask what you are actually waiting for: the community, or a two-bedroom on the second floor with a lake view.
3. The memory care list
Memory care is the tightest inventory in this market, because secured neighbourhoods are smaller and turnover is driven by health events rather than preference. When a family needs memory care urgently — which is how it usually happens — a short list of suitable communities becomes a shorter list of ones with a bed.
This is the category where planning ahead pays the largest dividend, and the one where families most often haven’t.
What being on a list actually gets you
It gets you a phone call. That’s the real value — you hear about the apartment before it’s marketed.
It does not oblige you to move. On almost every list here, when they call and you say “not yet,” you keep your place or move down one. Ask how many passes you get.
It does not freeze the price. Rates are what they are when you move in. Ask for the last three years of increases; see our CCRC article on why the history matters more than the policy.
It usually does not require a health assessment up front at a rental community — but a CCRC will assess health and finances before accepting you, and that assessment has an expiry. Ask how long it stays valid.
What to ask before you put money down
- Is the deposit refundable, and under what conditions? Get it in writing.
- How many people are ahead of me — for the apartment type I actually want? The community-wide number is meaningless.
- How many units of that type came available in the last 12 months? This is the question that turns a list position into a real estimate.
- What happens when you call and I’m not ready? How many declines before I lose my place?
- Does the list apply to higher levels of care too, or only to independent living?
- Is there a priority for existing residents moving between levels? There usually is, and it affects your odds.
The honest argument for doing this now
Getting on a list costs little and commits you to nothing. The downside is a refundable deposit sitting somewhere for a while. The upside is choice at the moment you need it.
And there is a quieter benefit. Families who tour in November, with no crisis, make different decisions than families touring in February under pressure. They notice different things. They ask better questions. They bring the parent along, and the parent participates — which is the single biggest predictor of how well the move goes afterwards.
Looking is not moving. Some of the best work I do is with families who tour three communities, decide they are not ready, and go home with a shortlist and a plan. When something does happen, they are not starting from zero at the worst possible moment.
Where I come in
I know which communities in Naples, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs have real waitlists and which have availability right now — and that changes week to week. I also know which lists are worth joining and which are a deposit sitting idle.
There is no cost to families for my referral services. If a move is anywhere on your horizon for the next two years, let’s have a conversation now rather than in February.
Bruce Rosenblatt is the owner of Senior Housing Solutions and has advised Southwest Florida families on senior living since 2008. See the communities and areas we serve, or get in touch.
by Bruce Rosenblatt | Aug 31, 2026 | Senior Housing Advice
Before Hurricane Season Peaks: 12 Questions to Ask a Naples Assisted Living Community About Its Emergency Plan
September 10 is the statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, and here in Southwest Florida we don’t need a reminder of what that means. Families who lived through Ian in September 2022 remember which communities had cold air, hot meals and a working phone line within 24 hours — and which ones didn’t.
In all my years touring senior living communities in Naples, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs, I’ve learned that a community’s emergency plan tells you more about how it’s run than any brochure ever will. A well-run community has thought this through in detail and can answer these questions on the spot. A community that fumbles them is telling you something.
Here are the twelve questions I ask on every tour.
First, know the legal floor
Florida law sets a minimum, and it’s worth understanding before you walk in the door. Under Florida Administrative Code Rule 59A-36.025, every licensed assisted living facility must be able to keep ambient air temperature at or below 81°F for at least 96 hours after losing power. The rule requires the facility to plan at least 20 net square feet per resident in the cooled area, and to keep fuel on site — 48 hours’ worth for facilities with 16 or fewer beds, 72 hours’ for larger ones, rising to 96 hours once an emergency has been declared for the area.
That is the floor, not the ceiling. Meeting the minimum means a community can cool part of the building for four days. It does not mean your mother’s apartment will have air conditioning, her oxygen concentrator will have power, or the elevator will run.
So the real question is never “do you have a generator?” It’s “what exactly does your generator run, and for how long?”
The twelve questions
1. What does the generator actually power — and what doesn’t it power? Ask for specifics: resident rooms or common areas only? Elevators? Kitchen equipment? Well and lift-station pumps? Wi-Fi and the phone system? Medication refrigeration? Get a room-by-room answer, not a yes.
2. How many hours of fuel do you keep on site, and who is your resupply contract with? Every community in the county is calling the same fuel vendors after a storm. Ask where they sit on that vendor’s priority list, and whether that’s in writing.
3. What evacuation zone are you in, and what triggers an evacuation? Collier and Lee County evacuation zones are public information — confirm the community’s answer against the county map yourself. Then ask which specific order (Zone A, B, storm category, county directive) forces them to move residents.
4. If you evacuate, where do we go, and how do residents get there? There should be a named receiving facility with a signed agreement, and a transportation plan that accounts for wheelchairs, walkers and residents who can’t sit upright for a long ride.
5. How do you handle memory care residents during an evacuation? This is the hardest part of any storm plan. Moving a resident with dementia out of a familiar environment causes real harm. Ask what the memory care neighborhood does differently, and what staffing ratio they hold during an event.
6. What is your staffing plan, and do staff shelter on site with their families? The single best predictor of how a community performs in a storm is whether caregivers stay. Communities that let staff bring spouses, kids and pets keep their teams. Communities that don’t lose them to their own emergencies.
7. How many days of food and water do you stock, and how do you cook without power? Ask to see the emergency menu. Ask whether the kitchen has gas or a generator circuit.
8. What’s your pharmacy plan if the roads close? Which pharmacy, what backup supply, and how they handle controlled substances and refrigerated medications.
9. How will you communicate with me? Cell towers fail. Ask for the specific channels — text tree, Facebook page, landline, a designated out-of-area number — and ask what the plan is when all of them are down.
10. Show me what happened here during Hurricane Ian. This is the question that separates the answers from the marketing. Anyone operating in Southwest Florida in 2022 has a story. How long were they without power? Did they evacuate? What did they change afterward? Vague answers or “that was before my time” from the entire leadership team is worth noting.
11. Who is on site making decisions during the storm? Executive director, nurse, maintenance lead — by name and title. Ask whether the corporate office or the local team makes the evacuation call.
12. May I have a copy of your Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan? Every licensed community files one with the county. A community proud of its plan will hand it to you. Hesitation is data.
What to do with the answers
Write them down. When you’re comparing three or four communities — which is what most families in Naples end up doing — these answers blur together fast, and they matter far more than the difference in dining room décor.
Also do one thing that costs nothing: drive by. A community that keeps its landscaping trimmed, its roof maintained and its parking lot clear is a community that will have staged supplies before the storm.
Where I come in
I’ve toured nearly 100 communities across Naples, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs, and I’ve watched how many of them handled real storms. That history isn’t in any online directory. When a family calls me, part of what they get is my read on which communities perform when the power goes out — and which ones I’d want my own parents in.
There’s no cost to families for my services. If you’re evaluating assisted living or memory care this season, let’s talk before hurricane season ends — not after the next storm makes the decision for you.
Bruce Rosenblatt is the owner of Senior Housing Solutions and has advised Southwest Florida families on senior living since 2008. See the areas we serve.
Need Help Evaluating Assisted Living Communities?
Senior Housing Solutions helps families compare assisted living, memory care, independent living, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities throughout Southwest Florida.
We can help you ask the right questions, understand emergency preparedness plans, and identify communities that best fit your loved one's needs.
Bruce Rosenblatt, CDP
Senior Housing Solutions – Assisted Living Advisors
📞 239-595-0207
📧 [email protected]
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