If a parent on the Northshore needs more care, start with the Council on Aging St. Tammany (COAST) at 985-892-0377 and the statewide Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care line at 1-877-456-1146. Assisted living across Covington, Mandeville, and Slidell runs roughly $4,200 to $5,100 a month in 2026, below the national average.
If a parent on the Northshore needs more care, start with the Council on Aging St. Tammany (COAST) at 985-892-0377 and the statewide Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care line at 1-877-456-1146. Assisted living across Covington, Mandeville, and Slidell runs roughly $4,200 to $5,100 a month in 2026, below the national average.
St. Tammany Parish, the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain, is one of Louisiana's fastest-growing places to grow older. This guide points you to the real local resources, gives you an honest cost range for the parish, and explains how Medicaid fits, so you can take a first step without feeling lost.
Where do families start when a parent needs more care in St. Tammany Parish?
Start with two phone calls. The Council on Aging St. Tammany, known as COAST, helps parish residents 60 and older and is reachable at 985-892-0377 (COAST, 2026). For long-term-care Medicaid and the state waiver waitlist, call the Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care line at 1-877-456-1146 (Louisiana OAAS). Both are free.
COAST is the parish's designated Council on Aging, the local arm of Louisiana's aging-services network. Its main office is on Ramos Avenue in Covington, open weekdays (COAST, 2026). A first call there is the fastest way to learn what free help your family already qualifies for, from home-delivered meals to caregiver support, before you spend a dollar on private care.
| Resource | What it helps with | How to reach it |
|---|---|---|
| Council on Aging St. Tammany (COAST) | Free services for residents 60+: meals, transportation, caregiver support, homemaker and personal-care help, legal assistance | 985-892-0377 · coastseniors.org |
| Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care | Statewide line for long-term-care Medicaid screening and the waiver waitlist | 1-877-456-1146 |
| PACE Greater New Orleans | All-in-one Medicare and Medicaid care for frail seniors 55+ (confirm service area for the Northshore) | 504-835-0006 |
Phone numbers, hours, and service areas change. Confirm the current details when you call.
How much does senior care cost on the Northshore?
As of 2026, assisted living across the Northshore runs roughly $4,200 to $5,100 a month. A Place for Mom reports about $4,214 in Slidell, $4,524 in Covington, and $4,682 in Mandeville (A Place for Mom, 2026), while the authoritative 2024 CareScout survey puts the Louisiana median near $5,100 (CareScout, 2024). Treat the higher figure as a safe planning number.
Costs on the Northshore sit close to the greater New Orleans market and below the national average. Memory care, which adds a secured setting and dementia-trained staff, is not measured by the CareScout survey, so those figures are estimates and the least certain in this guide. In-home care is billed by the hour, and round-the-clock care is dramatically more than a few shifts a week. The table below is a planning range, not a quote.
| Care type | Northshore range per month (2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living | about $4,200 to $5,100 | A Place for Mom (2026); CareScout / Genworth (2024, Louisiana) |
| Memory care (estimate) | about $5,000 to $6,500 | SeniorLiving.org (2026); A Place for Mom (2026) |
| In-home care | about $20 to $30 an hour (roughly $3,500 to $4,200 for 40 hours a week) | CareScout / Genworth (2024, Louisiana); local agency quotes |
| Nursing home (skilled, semi-private) | about $7,500 | CareScout / Genworth (2024, Louisiana) |
These are medians and averages that vary by community, room, care level, and market, and they change year to year. Round-the-clock in-home care can exceed $15,000 a month, which is usually the point where families compare a community (CareScout, 2024).
What kinds of senior living communities are on the Northshore?
The Northshore has a full range: assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing homes, and in-home care agencies, spread across Covington, Mandeville, and Slidell. Aggregator listings show roughly a dozen or more assisted living and memory care communities in each of the three main towns, plus nursing homes and home-care agencies (A Place for Mom and SeniorLiving.org, 2026).
To give a sense of scale rather than exact counts, SeniorLiving.org lists about six assisted living communities in Mandeville alone and roughly sixteen within the surrounding area (SeniorLiving.org, 2026), and A Place for Mom lists similar numbers in Covington and Slidell (A Place for Mom, 2026). What matters for your family is not the total, but which handful truly fit your parent's needs, budget, and preferred town. Assisted living suits a parent who needs daily help but not constant medical care; memory care adds a secured, dementia-focused setting; a nursing home is the highest medical level; and in-home care keeps a parent in their own house. We do not list specific communities or their prices here, because those change often and deserve a current, verified quote.
Can Medicaid or PACE help pay for care in St. Tammany Parish?
Yes, for care at home and in nursing homes, though not for assisted living rent. Louisiana Medicaid can cover nursing-facility care and, through the Community Choices Waiver and Long-Term Personal Care Services, help pay for care delivered at home (Louisiana OAAS). Start any of these with the Options in Long-Term Care line at 1-877-456-1146.
Two things trip up Northshore families. First, Louisiana Medicaid never pays assisted living room and board; a waiver may cover care services for an eligible resident, but rent stays out of pocket (Louisiana OAAS). Second, PACE, the all-in-one program for frail seniors 55 and older, is run in this region by PACE Greater New Orleans, whose published service area covers Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes and does not currently list St. Tammany (PACE GNO, 2026). Because service areas can expand, confirm current Northshore eligibility by calling the Options line before you rule it in or out. For the fuller picture, see our guides on how to pay for senior care and the Medicaid programs that pay for care at home.
What free local resources exist for St. Tammany seniors and caregivers?
COAST runs activity centers in eight Northshore towns: Bush, Covington, Folsom, Lacombe, Madisonville, Mandeville, Pearl River, and Slidell (COAST, 2026). For residents 60 and older, most services are offered at no cost, including congregate meals, wellness programs, and caregiver support. Reach COAST at 985-892-0377 to find your nearest center.
Beyond the centers, COAST offers transportation through its STAR Transit service, home-delivered meals, homemaker and personal-care help, legal assistance, and support for family caregivers (COAST, 2026). These programs can ease the load long before a move to a community is on the table, and they are a good first stop while you figure out the bigger decisions. If your parent lives in Covington, Mandeville, Slidell, or one of the smaller towns like Abita Springs or Madisonville, there is very likely a center and a service close by.
How a Louisiana advisor helps: Public listings and averages are a starting point, not a plan. An advisor who works the Northshore can tell you which Covington, Mandeville, or Slidell communities actually fit your parent's needs and budget, pull current pricing, and explain how COAST, Medicaid, and other help fit together. You work with one advisor, your family is never sold to a list of companies, and a move to a community is only one option: in-home care and other paths get equal weight. A first conversation costs your family nothing and puts a real person on the Northshore on your side.
These figures are medians and averages that vary by community, care level, and market, and local phone numbers and service areas can change. This is general education to help your family plan, not medical, legal, or financial advice.
Common questions
Who do I call for senior help in St. Tammany Parish? Start with the Council on Aging St. Tammany (COAST) at 985-892-0377, the parish agency that helps residents 60 and older with meals, transportation, and caregiver support. For long-term-care Medicaid screening, call the statewide Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care line at 1-877-456-1146. Both are free to call.
How much does assisted living cost on the Northshore? As of 2026, assisted living across Covington, Mandeville, and Slidell runs roughly $4,200 to $5,100 a month, depending on the community and how much daily help your parent needs (A Place for Mom, 2026, and CareScout 2024). That is below the national average. Confirm real prices community by community.
Is there a PACE program on the Northshore? As of 2026, PACE Greater New Orleans serves Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes, and does not list St. Tammany in its published service area (PACE GNO, 2026). Because service areas change, confirm current eligibility for the Northshore by calling 1-877-456-1146 before you count on it.
Does Louisiana Medicaid pay for assisted living in St. Tammany Parish? Louisiana Medicaid does not pay assisted living room and board anywhere in the state, including the Northshore. The Community Choices Waiver can help cover care services for an eligible person, but the resident still pays rent and board. Call 1-877-456-1146 to start a screening (Louisiana OAAS).
What towns does senior care in St. Tammany Parish cover? St. Tammany is the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. Its senior communities and services span Covington (the parish seat), Mandeville, Slidell, Madisonville, Lacombe, Abita Springs, Folsom, Pearl River, and Bush. COAST runs activity centers in eight of these towns, so help is usually close to home.
