START HEREOne call that opens most doors
Almost every public path for a Brevard senior — screening for long-term care programs, benefits questions, local services — starts with the same free call. Make it early, even before you have chosen a home: starting the clock costs nothing.
Elder Helpline — Senior Resource Alliance (ADRC)
The Senior Resource Alliance is the official Area Agency on Aging for Brevard County, and its Elder Helpline is the front door to the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC): screening for Florida's Medicaid Long-Term Care wait list, connections to local services, and answers about what help exists.
Call: 1-800-963-5337 (1-800-96-ELDER) · Web: seniorresourcealliance.org
SHINE — free, unbiased Medicare and benefits counseling
SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) is a Florida Department of Elder Affairs program: trained counselors who explain Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care insurance options one-on-one. They sell nothing and charge nothing. Local SHINE counselors are reached through the Elder Helpline.
Reach SHINE via the Elder Helpline: 1-800-963-5337
MONEY & BENEFITSHow the care gets paid for
Florida Medicaid Choice Counseling
When the state approves a long-term care enrollment, the family chooses the managed care plan — and the home your loved one wants must be in that plan's network. Choice Counseling is the official channel for enrolling or changing plans.
Call: 1-877-711-3662 · Web: flmedicaidmanagedcare.com
The full process, in order, is in our Medicaid Long-Term Care guide for Florida families — what the program covers, what it never covers, and the honest timelines.
Understand the costs before anyone quotes you
Most families compare homes before they understand the money. These two pages use cited public figures only — no home's price list:
· What assisted living costs, state by state —
CareScout 2025 medians, including how Florida compares with the Northeast.
· Nursing home vs. assisted living — which setting fits your
loved one's needs, and who pays in each one.
Veterans: check Aid & Attendance before you assume
Wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need daily help may qualify for a monthly VA pension addition that can be used toward assisted living. Many families who "earn too much" still qualify, because care costs count against income.
Run the quick check: VA Aid & Attendance check.
CHECK ANY HOMEVerify a license yourself, in five minutes
Florida licenses every assisted living facility and nursing home through AHCA, and the record is public: license status, capacity, and inspection reports. Check any home you are considering — including ours — before you visit.
AHCA — FloridaHealthFinder
Open the Facility / Provider Locator, search the home by name or city, and read its license and survey (inspection) history. A home that discourages you from looking it up has answered your question.
For reference: Bella Vita Assisted Living Facility, Palm Bay — AHCA License #14019.
IN PERSONPlaces built for exactly these questions
One Senior Place — Viera / Melbourne
A free resource center for Brevard seniors and their families: resident experts under one roof, classes, support groups, and regular events and health fairs. A good first stop when you want to talk to a person, not a search engine.
Web: oneseniorplace.com
Greater Palm Bay Senior Center
The city's senior center: activities, classes, community, and periodic vendor and resource fairs where local services — including care homes — meet families face to face. Check the City of Palm Bay for the current schedule and membership details.
Aging Matters in Brevard
A long-standing Brevard community organization for older adults — meals and community support services for seniors who are still at home. Worth knowing about before a move is on the table at all.
END OF LIFEWhen a doctor raises hospice
Hospice is arranged through the person's doctor or hospital, and families in Brevard are usually offered a choice among the teams that serve this area. These are the hospice organizations working locally — listed by name so you can recognize them when the conversation comes:
- Hospice of Health First — Health First's hospice program, Melbourne area. Public line: (321) 434-1744 (hf.org).
- VITAS Healthcare — hospice team serving Melbourne and Brevard.
- Amedisys Hospice — hospice team serving the Melbourne area.
- Mederi Caretenders Hospice (Optum) — serving the Palm Bay / Melbourne area.
- St. Francis Reflections — Brevard's community hospice.
Hospice care can be provided wherever the person lives — including inside an assisted living home — and it is normally covered by the Medicare hospice benefit for eligible patients.
ONE LOCAL HOMEBella Vita, on this list like everyone else
Bella Vita Assisted Living Facility — Palm Bay
A licensed six-resident assisted living home in Palm Bay, run by its owner. Families reach us when the step is residential care with help in daily life — and we tell them plainly when the right step is a different one, including a nursing facility. Start with the free care evaluation: it decides the level, and it happens the same day you call.
Call: (407) 914-5350 · 1405 Graves St SE, Palm Bay, FL 32909 · AHCA License #14019 · Our Palm Bay–Melbourne family guide
Alejandro Cardozo — Owner and Administrator
Bella Vita is a six-resident home in Palm Bay where one caregiver can truly know every resident — their medications, their routines, how they take their coffee. I handle admissions and families myself: when you call, I answer, and care evaluations happen the same day. Every Friday, families receive a written report on their loved one's week — appetite, medications, activities, and anything that changed.
Bella Vita Assisted Living Facility · 1405 Graves St SE, Palm Bay, FL 32909 · AHCA License #14019 · (407) 914-5350
Questions about your family's situation?
This list is a starting point — your family's situation may not fit neatly into any single box on it. Call Alejandro at (407) 914-5350 and he will point you to the right door, even if that door is not ours. Or book a tour and come talk it through in person. The care evaluation is free, and it happens the same day you call.