In-Home Dementia Care in Jacksonville

Use this guide to plan dementia care in Jacksonville: the regional agencies, memory clinic, day programs and what a week of help costs.

Duval County and its neighbors

Duval County, which is consolidated with the City of Jacksonville, has about 1.06 million residents. Roughly 17.3% are 65 or older, about 184,000 people (Census Bureau, 2025 estimates). The Alzheimer’s Association’s 2023 county-level estimates put Alzheimer’s prevalence among Duval residents 65 and older at about 12.1%.

Our Jacksonville area also reaches into two neighboring counties. Ponte Vedra is in St. Johns County, where about 22.5% of residents are 65 or older, and Orange Park is in Clay County, at about 18.8% (Census QuickFacts). The good news for families is that all three counties share the same Area Agency on Aging and the same state Memory Disorder Clinic, so the main phone numbers below work no matter which side of the county line your loved one lives on.

Jacksonville’s key dementia resources

Beyond Mayo, Jacksonville’s major health systems include Baptist Health, the area’s largest, plus UF Health Jacksonville and Ascension St. Vincent’s. If your loved one is admitted, our hospital guide for dementia caregivers and printable hospital information sheet can help staff understand them.

The Alzheimer’s Association Central and North Florida Chapter covers Jacksonville as part of its 43-county region, with headquarters in Longwood near Orlando. Its free Helpline, 800-272-3900, can connect you with local support groups and a care consultant.

Local resources at a glance

Caregiving realities in Northeast Florida

A city that is big on the map

Because Jacksonville and Duval County are one government, the city covers a huge area, split by the St. Johns River. A trip from Mandarin to the Northside, or from Orange Park to the Beaches, can take a big chunk of a day once you add bridges and I-295 traffic. That distance is often what makes a midweek check-in impossible for working adult children.

Storms come from the ocean and the river

Jacksonville’s beaches face Atlantic storm surge, and low-lying neighborhoods along the St. Johns River and its creeks can flood in heavy storms. Check your loved one’s address with Know Your Zone. If they need help with daily living or depend on powered medical equipment, add them to the state’s Special Needs Registry and contact Duval, St. Johns or Clay County Emergency Management about special needs shelters. Those shelters provide basic monitoring and backup power, not hospital care, and a family caregiver should plan to stay. Read our hurricane guide for a full plan.

Military families and veterans

With Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport nearby, many local families include veterans or service members who move often. If your loved one served, see dementia care for veterans and our guide to VA benefits.

Summer heat

Northeast Florida summers are long and humid. Keep outings to cooler hours and watch for dehydration, which can show up as sudden confusion.

How Jacksonville families use Dementia Companions

• Weekday company for a parent living alone. Set mornings or afternoons so your loved one has meals, a walk and conversation while you’re at work. See living alone with dementia.
• Respite for a spouse. Regular respite care so a husband or wife in Mandarin or Ponte Vedra can rest or keep their own appointments.
• Support while a family member is deployed or relocated. Short notes after each visit and monthly care-plan reviews keep everyone informed from wherever they are.
• Appointment escort to Mayo or Baptist. A companion can go along and help you keep track of what was said. Companions don’t provide medical care, so families add home health when nursing is needed.

Our rate is $35 an hour for 40+ hours a week in Duval, Clay and St. Johns, with no contract. Use the Florida cost guide, paying for dementia care and our in-home vs. memory care comparison to plan.

A week of dementia care in Jacksonville: what it costs

Jacksonville is spread out, so many families plan visits in longer blocks that make the drive worthwhile. Sample schedules are below. Our rate is $35/hour for 40+ hours a week; call us about shorter schedules.

The Saturday block is common in military households, where one spouse is caring for the other while family is stationed elsewhere. Five hours is long enough for a real rest, errands or a church service.

By comparison, CareScout’s 2025 Florida medians were about $67,320 a year for assisted living and $124,100 for a semi-private nursing home room. Full-time help at home is a different story: 40 hours a week with us is about $72,800 a year, close to the cost of a facility, so that is when it makes sense to compare in-home care and assisted living side by side.

Day programs and caregiver support around Jacksonville

• Aging True lists a licensed adult day health care program, respite and caregiver services, and a help line at (904) 807-1203.
• ElderSource offers a virtual caregiver support group, the Powerful Tools for Caregivers class, and a page on Medicare’s GUIDE dementia care model; its HelpLine is 1-888-242-4464.
• St. Johns County Council on Aging runs a Ponte Vedra Memory Care Center with structured morning and midday sessions for people concerned about memory loss, (904) 209-3700.
• Medicare GUIDE participants can offer up to $2,500 a year in respite to eligible patients; ask your loved one’s doctor.

A companion can fill the hours a program does not cover, and drive your loved one to and from it. See adult day care vs. in-home respite.

Questions Jacksonville families ask us first

1. Can the companion live on our side of the river? The Buckman, Fuller Warren and Dames Point bridges change everything at rush hour.
2. Do you work with veterans and military families, and can you take Dad to VA appointments?
3. Can visits be longer blocks, such as five or six hours, instead of many short ones?
4. Will someone help us prepare when a nor’easter or hurricane is forecast?
5. What happens if Mom does not take to the first companion?

Short answers: yes, we match by area; companions escort to appointments; all are screened for dementia care experience; visits run from 2 hours to a full day; and rematches are free.

Areas we serve around Jacksonville

• Mandarin
• Ponte Vedra
• Orange Park
• 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