In-Home Dementia Care in Fort Lauderdale

Below: the Broward agencies and clinics to know, what dementia care in Fort Lauderdale costs at home, and how to line up a break for yourself.

Broward at a glance: a big county with a lot of older neighbors

Broward County has about 2 million residents, and roughly 19.5% of them, close to 400,000 people, are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2025 estimates). The 2023 county-level estimates from the Alzheimer’s Association put Broward third in Florida for Alzheimer’s prevalence, at about 13.9% of residents 65 and older. Only Miami-Dade and Gadsden counties ranked higher.

Broward is also one of the most international counties in the state. About 44% of residents speak a language other than English at home and roughly 37% were born abroad (Census, 2020-2024). For many families that means planning care around a parent who is most comfortable in Spanish or Haitian Creole.

Who to call first in Broward

The Alzheimer’s Association Southeast Florida Chapter is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale (954-786-1533) and serves eight counties from the Keys to Indian River. Its free Helpline, 800-272-3900, offers bilingual staff or a translation service covering more than 200 languages, which helps in a county this diverse.

For hospital care, Broward has two public hospital systems:, Broward Health, from the North Broward Hospital District, and Memorial Healthcare System, from the South Broward Hospital District. Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston is another major option. Hospital stays are hard on people with dementia; our hospital survival guide and printable hospital information sheet can help.

A note on Boca Raton

Our Fort Lauderdale area includes Boca Raton, but Boca Raton is not in Broward. It sits at the southern edge of Palm Beach County, directly north of Deerfield Beach. That changes which public agencies serve your loved one:

• The Area Agency on Aging is the Area Agency on Aging of Palm Beach/Treasure Coast, (561) 684-5885.
• Palm Beach County’s state Memory Disorder Clinics include the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, (561) 297-0502, which the state also lists with an adult day center.
• Boca Raton Regional Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida, is home to the Marcus Neuroscience Institute.

Many families have relatives on both sides of the county line, and our rate stays the same either way. See dementia care in Boca Raton for details.

Local resources at a glance

Daily life in Broward with dementia: what to plan for

Condos, canals and wandering

Much of eastern Broward is high-rise condos and homes along canals. Both carry risks if your loved one tends to wander: elevators and lobby doors on one hand, open water on the other. Our wandering guide covers door alarms, ID bracelets and what to tell building staff.

Storm season

Barrier-island and low-lying coastal neighborhoods are the most likely to be ordered to evacuate. Check your loved one’s address with Know Your Zone. If they need help with daily tasks or depend on powered medical equipment, sign up on the state’s Special Needs Registry, and contact Broward County Emergency Management about special needs shelters. The shelters offer basic monitoring and backup power, not full medical care, and a caregiver should plan to come along.

Heat and getting around

Summer afternoons are hard on older bodies. Plan outings for mornings and keep appointments close when you can; I-95, I-595 and the Turnpike can turn a short trip into a long one.

How Broward families use Dementia Companions

A few patterns we see often:

• Seasonal and part-year residents. When a parent stays in Fort Lauderdale through the summer after the rest of the family heads north, a companion keeps the routine steady.
• Sandwich-generation caregivers in Pembroke Pines or Hollywood who need a set block of weekday coverage while they work and raise kids.
• Spouses who need a break. Regular respite care a few afternoons a week, so the healthy spouse can rest or keep their own appointments.
• Families comparing options. Some try in-home help before deciding on a move; our in-home care vs. memory care guide lays out the trade-offs.

Pricing is $35 an hour for 40+ hours a week everywhere we serve. Our cost guide and paying for care page explain how families budget for it.

What dementia care in Fort Lauderdale costs, week by week

Broward families usually book around the hardest stretch of the day: the hours a working daughter is at the office, or the afternoons a spouse needs to rest. Three sample weeks are below (monthly = weekly × 52 ÷ 12). Our rate is $35/hour for 40+ hours a week; call us about shorter schedules.

How that compares: CareScout’s 2025 Florida survey found median yearly costs of about $67,320 for assisted living and about $124,100 for a semi-private nursing home room. The 40-hour plan, about $72,800 a year, costs more than the state’s assisted living median, which is why families needing full days, every day, often mix companion hours with an adult day program, whose Florida median was about $19,500 a year.

Our rate is the same in every Broward city, with no surcharge for weekends.

Getting a break: caregiver programs in Broward

Beyond the agencies listed above, the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Broward County runs a Caregiver Navigator Program, a Caregiver Text Support Line, Alzheimer’s disease services and a directory of day care and senior centers. Its helpline is (954) 745-9779. The ADRC also lists GUIDE Dementia Care, part of a Medicare model launched in July 2024; participating providers can offer care navigation, a support line, caregiver training and up to $2,500 a year in respite for eligible patients.

Ask whether a program has a waitlist before you count on it. Many families start with a few companion hours while they wait. See dementia respite care and our guide to taking a break without guilt.

Questions Broward families should ask before hiring

1. Does the caregiver live near our part of Broward, so I-95 or the Sawgrass does not decide whether they arrive on time?
2. Can you handle our condo’s guest list, parking pass or gate code before the first visit?
3. Will it be the same person each visit, and what happens if the match is wrong?
4. Is anyone on the team comfortable in Spanish, Creole or Portuguese, if that is your loved one’s first language?
5. What will the caregiver do on a hurricane watch day?

With us: one consistent companion screened for dementia care experience, a note after every visit, monthly care-plan reviews and a free rematch. Companions give medication reminders but never administer medication.

Areas we serve near Fort Lauderdale

• Boca Raton
• Hollywood
• Pembroke Pines
• Cost of dementia care in Florida
• Paying for dementia care
• In-home care vs. memory care
• Dementia respite care

Watch a caregiver before you choose

Families watch video interviews like these and choose their companion. No one is sent to your parent's home until you have watched them and said yes.

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Watch all our caregiver interviews