Local conditions
| 90°F+ days a year | 2.7 |
|---|---|
| Freezing days a year | 67 |
| Snow, inches a year | 79.9 |
| Hospital drive time | 0-15 minutes |
| Hospital area | St. Albans |
| Nearest hospital | Saint Albans, 1 mile |
| CMS-certified homes | 2 |
| Licensed facilities | 3 |
NOAA climate station: St Albans Radio, about 3 miles from the center of Saint Albans City.
How St. Albans compares next door
Saint Albans City sits within a 0-15 minute drive of the nearest hospital and carries 3 of Franklin County's 6 licensed senior-living settings, 2 of them Medicare/Medicaid certified nursing homes — half the county's entire supply concentrated in the city itself. That's a more centralized, nursing-home-heavy supply than Fairfax's, a Franklin County town covered elsewhere on this site whose own plan instead describes 67 independent-living units across two dedicated senior housing complexes.
Getting started
The city itself sits on VT 7 with a Lake Champlain waterfront, and I-89 exit 19 is the route most agencies use to reach it.
Home-care coverage
St.
Albans is served by agencies working the I-89 corridor north from Burlington.
Coverage is reasonable in and around the town and becomes uncertain toward Franklin, Berkshire and the border communities.
How far to search
A St.
Albans search realistically spans the county and then Chittenden.
Burlington is roughly half an hour and holds far more choice, but that drive is a real commitment for family visiting several times a week through a Vermont winter.
- Franklin County guide
- Northwestern Vermont
- All Vermont areas
Costs
Franklin County prices generally run below Chittenden for the same category, which is the main financial argument for staying local rather than moving the search south.
Winter and transport
Green Mountain Transit runs the Burlington–St.
Albans commuter link and local routes.
I-89 makes the north–south trip dependable; the lakeside and border roads are the ones weather closes.
Questions for providers
Do you serve the border towns north of St.
Albans, and does that change your minimum visit or travel charge?
The first week
Price the local options and the Burlington ones side by side in the first week, then decide honestly how often family will make the drive.
That answer, not the price difference, usually settles it.
Licensed settings
St.
Albans accounts for 3 of the state's licensed senior-living settings, with 3 more spread through Franklin County, 6 in all.
1 carries a dementia designation, 4 take a Medicaid residential payment.
Hospital and home health
Because of its location in Franklin County, St.
Albans is served by Northwestern Medical Center Inc.
in Saint Albans (Joint Commission accredited), and discharge planning there is usually the quickest route to rehab or home health.
Franklin County has no home health agency licensed in state records, so St.
Albans care runs through a neighbouring county's provider or whatever the discharging hospital arranges.
Resources
The Franklin County Senior Center
The Franklin County Senior Center is at 75 Messenger Street, in the former Messenger Street School.
It has over 400 members, more than 200 of them lifetime members past the age of 82.
Age Well delivers Meals on Wheels five days a week, with cold meals for weekends for those who qualify, and referrals go through the helpline at 800-642-5119.