Page 7 of Best Memory Care in Mississippi

Offering nursing care and rehabilitation services, James T Champion Nursing Facility is a nursing home operated by Diana S. Mikula in Meridian, Mississippi. With 63 older adults in residence, the community currently maintains 90% occupancy. Its location on North Lakeland Drive is also car-dependent, as reflected in its Walk Score of 6, suggesting that vehicles are necessary to access amenities nearby.

To meet residents’ ongoing care needs, the community has a staffing model that consists of registered nurses, nursing aides, and licensed practical nurses. Additionally, an average of 1 hour and 33 minutes of registered nurse care is provided per resident each day, while nursing aides contribute 2 hours and 51 minutes. Licensed practical nurses also provide an additional 19 minutes.

For over seven years, the Mississippi Department of Health’s inspections reflect the community’s efforts to maintain quality care and regulatory compliance. Furthermore, concerns related to resident privacy, safety practices, bedrail assessments, consent procedures, and staff education were addressed with continued attention to resident dignity, safety, and care standards.

To know more about James T Champion Nursing Facility’s accommodations, dining services, and daily programming, it would be beneficial for families to schedule a tour and discuss care plans with the team.

Overview of The Pinnacle of Southaven

Operated by MFF Oxford, The Pinnacle of Southaven is an assisted living community at 108 Clarington Dr in Desoto County, Mississippi. It’s about 1.5 miles south of downtown Southaven and within walking distance of Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto. The home offers three complementary levels of care in a one-story building: assisted living, memory care, and respite or short-term care. With a choice of private or semi-private rooms, the 65-bed home caters to occupants with varying care needs and budgets.

A practical advantage for families navigating transitions is respite care. Short-term stays let a spouse or primary caregiver rest without asking the resident to relocate permanently. Those stays include real medical support from trained staff instead of basic lodging alone. This flexibility means families can plan without committing to a full move immediately. All week, occupants join activities and programs tailored to maintain engagement and life quality. The Pinnacle of Southaven offers transportation services for medical appointments and family visits, alongside fitness and recreational options for those wanting to stay active. It sits in a quiet area just outside town, offering a calmer setting while remaining convenient to local services and amenities. With a Walk Score of 37, the neighborhood is somewhat walkable for quick local errands, but a car is required for most trips.

For occupants and families who value a smaller, multi-level care home where assisted living and memory care coexist in one place, The Pinnacle of Southaven’s integrated model provides continuity when care needs change.

Madison County Nursing Home is a nursing facility that strongly focuses on rehabilitation. The 95-bed home is owned by Robert Bilbrew and administered by Daniel Logan. It accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and private pay, providing families with several pathways to cover both short-term rehabilitation and longer-term care.

The home is close to full at 96% occupancy. Most residents stay an average of 299 days, reflecting a mix of post-acute recovery and ongoing nursing needs.

Clinically, the facility focuses on rehabilitation services and short-term recovery. It’s a great option for patients recovering from surgery, a fall, stroke, or other acute health event. Daily nurse staffing averages 5 hours and 10 minutes per resident, while nursing aides provide about 3 hours and 36 minutes of hands-on care each day, indicating consistent attention to daily needs.

The home also offers a dedicated Alzheimer’s Unit and Memory Care Services for residents with cognitive decline. They are supported by rehabilitation therapies that address physical recovery and day-to-day functioning. These programs, including the Healthplex initiative, provide structure and therapeutic engagement beyond basic care.

Residents can enjoy daily activities tailored to their interests and abilities, such as gardening, religious services, arts and crafts, musical entertainment, and outings. There’s also a fitness center for residents working on recovery or maintaining strength. The home’s location has a walkability score of 67 out of 100, so some errands are accessible on foot, while other trips may require a car.

Care Center of Laurel is a nursing home offering skilled nursing services, long-term care, and short-term rehabilitation in Laurel, Mississippi. Operated and administered by Ronald Loftin, it accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay, providing several ways for families to afford recovery stays and ongoing care. The home has an average stay of 136 days, reflecting a mix of residents recuperating from acute events and those requiring sustained nursing support. The facility currently runs at about 66 percent occupancy, with 69 occupants in the 105-bed community.

The facility gears toward rehabilitation and recovery, with dedicated short-term rehab and therapy services to help occupants regain function post-hospitalization, surgery, or injury. Beyond nursing care, the home offers memory care programming for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. Daily nursing care averages 4 hours 32 minutes per resident, with nursing staff split across registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nurse aides working to bolster occupants’ medical and personal needs. The team combines licensed nurse oversight with significant aide time for daily living’s hands-on activities. Dining spotlights nutrition and comfort, with meals carefully prepared and served in a tidy, cozy setting. The surrounding Laurel neighborhood scores moderately on walkability, with access to some nearby amenities, plus services walkable for families and staff.

For families exploring placement options, the occupancy’s capacity may offer flexibility.

Overview of Wesley Manor

A theater named Tom Thumb tells you something about a place before you even walk in, and Wesley Manor has one, tucked into its amenity list alongside a chapel, a salon and spa, and a garden with walking paths. The nursing home itself sits at 246 Westover Drive in Hattiesburg, three stories, one- and two-bedroom units, starting at $3,709 a month.

Getting around outside the building takes a car. Walk Score comes in at 23, firmly car-dependent, so residents and visiting family will lean on transportation more than sidewalks here.

Clinically, the staffing breakdown covers the standard tiers: registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nurse aides, all contributing to daily resident care. Beyond nursing itself, the service list includes rehabilitation, respite care, short-term rehab, and round-the-clock staffing, with a specific skilled nursing and rehab track and spiritual care available for residents who want it.

There’s a connection to the wider community too, one that goes past the property line: residents can take part in educational and entertainment programs through nearby University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University, a detail that separates Wesley Manor from a purely self-contained facility.

Wesley Manor ultimately offers skilled nursing and rehabilitation care wrapped in genuine on-site amenities and a real link to local academic life, in a stretch of Hattiesburg where a car matters more than a sidewalk.

Overview of Starkville Manor Health Care and Rehabilitation

Starkville Manor Health Care and Rehabilitation is a 119-bed nursing home at 1001 Hospital Road, Starkville, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, at city center. Everett Mckibben owns the facility. LLC Beverly G. Taylor administers.

CMS-certified, accepts Medicare and Medicaid. CMS CCN 255172. 1-star overall rating.

The 1-star CMS rating is the lowest possible and reflects critical deficiencies across all four rating domains. Health Inspection: 1 star, 64.7% below Mississippi average. Staffing: 1 star, 8.3% below state average. Quality Measures: 1 star, 53.9% below state average.

This lowest-tier rating directly reflects documented inspection failures, severely diminished staffing resources, and poor resident outcomes.

Inspection record is alarming. Five inspections in four years yielded 31 citations—85% above Mississippi average (16.9 citations). Citations per inspection average 6.2 versus state average of 3.83. Critical severity citations: 5 (400% worse than state average of 1).

Serious citations: 3 (173% worse than state average of 1.1). Deficiency patterns: Quality of Life & Care (8 deficiencies, 26%), Administration (5, 16%), Resident Rights (4, 13%), Pharmacy Services (3, 10%), Abuse/Neglect/Exploitation (1, 3%). Inspector findings describe wound care neglect with immediate jeopardy designation (February 2024); the highest severity level indicating residents were in imminent danger of death or serious harm. Additional complaint investigations found substantiated fund misappropriation (November 2023) and systemic staffing shortages (March 2023).

Most recent inspection (September 2025) identified deficiencies in resident dignity during meals, failure to implement care plans for splint use and hygiene, inadequate ADL assistance, and inaccurate staffing data reported to CMS.

Staffing is critically understaffed. Total nursing hours 3 hours 31 minutes per resident per day, 19% below state average and below the 3.5-hour national red-flag threshold. RN hours: 25 minutes (34% below state average, only 66% of state norm). LPN hours: 45 minutes (32% below state average).

Weekend RN hours: 15 minutes (32% below state average). The facility ranks 89th of 100 Mississippi nursing homes in nurse staffing. Payroll is 30.3% of revenu; well below the typical 55-65% for adequately staffed facilities, confirming systematic understaffing.

Financial strain is evident. Operating loss: -$449.9K (2023). Profit margin: -3.5%. Despite strong occupancy (93.7%, well above state average), the facility loses money, suggesting cost-cutting measures affecting care.

Revenue $13.0M against payroll of $3.9M indicates resources exist but are not allocated to adequate staffing.

Quality outcomes are mixed. Long-stay pressure ulcer rates, UTI rates, and weight loss rates are better than state average, but ED visits are 23% worse, falls with major injury are 12% worse, and antipsychotic use is 28% worse. Short-stay outcomes are substantially degraded: falls with major injury 1.9% (149% worse than state), discharge functional ability 17.1% (68% worse), successful return to home 42.9% (15% worse).

Families evaluating Starkville Manor should understand that the 1-star rating, immediate jeopardy wound care findings, substantiated fund misappropriation, critical staffing shortages, and deteriorating short-stay rehabilitation outcomes collectively present substantial risk. The facility’s pattern of recurring compliance failures despite corrective efforts demonstrates systemic dysfunction.

Families should ask about the February 2024 immediate jeopardy finding, corrections, verification of staffing adequacy, and protocols preventing fund misappropriation. Tour and verify directly.

Overview of Diversicare of Eupora

A 119-bed nursing home in Mississippi, Diversicare of Eupora takes Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay to give families many ways to cover short-term rehabilitation stays and longer-term nursing care. With an 89 percent occupancy rate, the home, owned by Corey Murphy, maintains a strong census and serves a blend of post-acute and ongoing care residents.

The facility specializes in rehabilitation and complex medical care, focusing on short-term rehabilitation for those recuperating from hospitalizations, surgery, or acute illness. Total nursing care averages 4 hours per resident day, providing continuous hands-on support. The staff has registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nursing aides spread out across each shift to support daily care routines. The average stay duration is 121 days, reflecting the population of residents in rehabilitation and those with longer-term medical needs. This stay length denotes the type of acuity and care intensity families can anticipate at the community. The surrounding area has a Walk Score of 40, so some nearby services are walkable, but most errands and activities necessitate driving. This setting supports residents who need staff support with mobility and families needing a quick drive from nearby neighborhoods when visiting. The community positions itself as a hospitable environment with a focus on highly trained staff who can manage the clinical needs that nursing home residents require.

Touring Diversicare of Eupora paints a clear picture of its staffing, facilities, and clinical capabilities. This is helpful for families exploring care options after a hospital discharge or considering a place for active medical needs.

Managed by operator Amy Hood, Attala County Nursing Center is a 120-bed skilled nursing community located on Highway 12 West in Kosciusko, Mississippi. The administrative office accepts multiple standard insurance setups, including Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay options. For visitors, the surrounding area has a walkability score of 55 out of 100, indicating a moderately pedestrian-friendly layout where family members can handle a few basic errands on foot, though a vehicle remains practical for most local trips.

Statistical records highlight an average length of stay of around 421 days, demonstrating an operational emphasis on permanent residential care alongside traditional post-hospital therapy tracks. To handle routine daily medical and personal care needs, the 24-hour staffing framework provides an average of 4 hours of total nursing care per resident each day. This clinical time includes 25 minutes from registered nurses and 2 hours and 19 minutes from nurse aides, with licensed practical nurses balancing the remaining daily shifts.

Oversight files document the facility’s recurring regulatory compliance reviews. State inspection records indicate that the administration handles its daily charting and nursing operations within local licensing guidelines, which keeps the home’s long-term cumulative citations-per-inspection rate at zero.

Families have access to private or semi-private accommodations equipped with building-wide Wi-Fi, cable television hookups, and landscaped outdoor gardens. The campus features a dedicated rehabilitation gym and hydrotherapy spa rooms, with an on-site beauty salon and barbershop to handle personal grooming. Daily living centers on personalized physical recovery loops and dietitian-approved meals, with scheduled religious services, community excursions, room cleaning, and laundry assistance, completing the weekly routine.

The Myrtles Nursing Center is a skilled nursing home located on Alberta Avenue in Columbia, Mississippi. It is owned by Donna Whittington and administered by Kourtney Martin. The home accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay, providing families with several payment options for short-term rehabilitation and longer-term nursing care. With 98 beds and an occupancy rate of 75%, the community has consistently operated in a moderately walkable setting, with a score of 56 out of 100.

The home specializes in post-acute rehabilitation and skilled nursing care. It particularly focuses on short-term rehab and wound management. Daily nurse staffing averages 4 hours and 19 minutes per resident.

Residents are supported by nursing aides, who provide an additional 3 hours and 2 minutes of direct care. This level of hands-on attention reflects the facility’s focus on rehabilitation. It’s best for patients recovering from surgery or a hospital stay who need structured therapy support.

The center offers private and semiprivate rooms and a state-of-the-art rehabilitation gym where residents work through physical and occupational therapy. Transportation to medical appointments is available to residents and their families, which makes it easier for them to recover and manage ongoing care. Those who want to spend time outdoors can enjoy the beautifully landscaped gardens and common spaces.

Residents are supported with daily amenities that reduce isolation and promote comfort: a beauty salon and barbershop, dietitian-approved meals, television and Wi-Fi access, religious services, and community outings. Most stay an average of 277 days, including shorter post-acute stays and residents who remain for ongoing skilled care. There’s 24-hour on-site staffing, so the home can respond to residents’ needs around the clock.

Administered by Gayle Bullock under owner Donna Ballard, Diversicare of Amory is a 60-bed SNF at 1215 Earl Frye Drive in Amory, Mississippi. The facility operated by Diversicare of Tylertown, LLC, welcomes Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay, giving families flexibility in how they fund care. With occupancy at 100 percent, Diversicare of Amory runs a full community.

Diversicare of Amory centers on rehabilitation and short-term care, with extensive services for individuals recovering from surgery, illness, or hospitalization. Residents stay an average of 143 days, a timeframe reflecting the facility’s focus on post-acute rehabilitation and medical recovery. Total nursing support averages 3 hours 50 minutes per resident day, combining the efforts of registered nurses, nurse aides, and licensed practical nurses to deliver attentive clinical care. This staffing model supports residents with complex medical needs in a 24-hour staffing environment. The home is in a somewhat walkable neighborhood where some nearby errands can be done on foot, with a mix of local amenities accessible to visiting families. For those looking to visit regularly or help manage outside appointments, the surrounding area offers reasonable access.