CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY is a 90-bed Assisted Living in Shoreline, Washington, licensed by the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS license #770). Here's what the public record shows and how to evaluate it for your family.
| Provider | CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY |
|---|---|
| Type | Assisted Living (BH) (DSHS-licensed) |
| City | Shoreline, WA 98133 |
| Address | 19303 Fremont Ave N |
| Licensed beds | 90 |
| DSHS license # | 770 |
| License status | OP |
| County | King County |
| RCS region | 2J |
| Specialized Dementia Care | Not indicated |
| Apple Health (Medicaid) | Not indicated |
| DSHS lookup | DSHS provider record → |
How Washington regulates assisted livings
In Washington, assisted living is licensed by DSHS (ALTSA / Residential Care Services) under RCW 18.20 and WAC 388-78A. A facility's license can include endorsements — such as Specialized Dementia Care — that let residents stay as needs increase. Always verify the exact license and endorsements; they determine how long your parent can remain as care needs grow.
Shoreline location & hospital context
Shoreline is an established north-King County city of about 58,000 just north of Seattle, with leafy single-family neighborhoods, a long-tenured 65+ population, and the UW Medicine Northwest hospital campus on its southern edge.
Nearby hospitals: UW Medical Center–Northwest, Swedish Edmonds (nearby), Virginia Mason (Seattle, nearby). Proximity matters for hospital discharges, emergencies, and specialist visits, so families weighing CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY often factor drive time to these. Nearby areas: Richmond Beach, Echo Lake, Ridgecrest, North City, Innis Arden.
What assisted living costs near CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
Assisted Living in the Shoreline area typically runs $5,700–$8,050/month (2026). Pricing at any specific provider depends on care level, room type, and size. Washington's Apple Health (Medicaid) with the COPES waiver and VA Aid & Attendance can offset much of the care cost for those who qualify — ask us what applies.
How to evaluate CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
The strongest signals of quality at an assisted living community are staffing and transparency, not amenities. Find out the awake-overnight staffing level, the caregiver turnover rate, and the tenure of key leaders. Ask for an itemized, all-in monthly cost for your parent's specific care level, and what triggers a move to a higher (more expensive) tier. Probe how the community handles a decline — a fall, new incontinence, or memory changes — and how it communicates with families. Visit more than once, unannounced, at different times of day, and check the DSHS inspection and enforcement history on the fortress.wa.gov lookup for a pattern of repeat deficiencies before you commit.
Is CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY the right fit?
Assisted living fits an older adult who needs daily help — bathing, dressing, medication reminders, meals — but does not require round-the-clock skilled nursing. It's the most common first move when living alone stops being safe. CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY is licensed for this level of care in Shoreline; whether it's right for your parent depends on their specific needs, budget, and preferences. A free advisor can compare it head-to-head with other licensed Shoreline-area options.
What's typically included at a assisted living like this
Usually included: housing, three meals daily, 24/7 awake staff, housekeeping, laundry, scheduled transportation, social and wellness programming, and a basic care plan. Typically billed separately: medication management above a basic tier, two-person transfers, incontinence care, on-site hospice coordination, and one-on-one aide hours. Ask CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY for an itemized monthly rate sheet so you can compare it honestly against other Shoreline options.
Questions to ask when you tour CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
- How many caregivers are on at night per resident?
- Which conditions can you not care for here?
- What's included in the base rate, and what's billed separately?
- What happens if our parent's needs increase next year?
- How long have your director and head nurse been here?
Common questions about CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
Is CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY licensed in Washington?
How many beds does CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY have?
Does CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY accept Apple Health (Medicaid)?
What does it cost?
How Shoreline families actually pay for care
Very few families cover senior care from a single source. In Shoreline, the typical plan layers several of these, often shifting over a multi-year stay:
- Personal savings & Social Security. Most Puget Sound families self-fund the first 12–24 months from savings, pensions, and monthly Social Security before tapping other sources.
- Long-term-care insurance. If a policy is in force, it can cover a large share of assisted living or home care — check the elimination period and daily benefit cap. Washington's WA Cares Fund also provides a state long-term-care benefit for eligible workers.
- VA Aid & Attendance. Eligible wartime veterans and surviving spouses can receive roughly $1,800–$2,900/month toward care — a major lever in a metro served by VA Puget Sound (Seattle and the American Lake campus in Lakewood).
- Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) long-term care. Washington's Apple Health long-term care — delivered in the community through the COPES waiver, administered by DSHS Home and Community Services — covers personal care and many community-based services for those who qualify by income and assets. Adult family homes are a common low-cost, Medicaid-contracted setting.
- Home equity. Selling the family home or a reverse mortgage frequently funds sustained care once a parent has moved.
- Family cost-sharing. Siblings often split the monthly gap; a written agreement keeps it fair and durable.
Because Shoreline assisted living can run into the thousands per month, mapping the funding plan early — before a crisis — often saves a family tens of thousands of dollars. A free local advisor can tell you which of these you qualify for and which Shoreline providers accept Apple Health (the COPES waiver).
Washington programs & protections to know
Washington senior care is licensed and inspected by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) — through its Aging and Long-Term Support Administration (ALTSA) and Residential Care Services (RCS); you can verify any license, inspection, and complaint history free at fortress.wa.gov/dshs/adsaapps/lookup. Service funding and in-home support are coordinated through the local Area Agency on Aging — in the Seattle metro, Aging and Disability Services (ADS) for King County, Homage in Snohomish, and Aging & Disability Resources of Pierce County. Long-term-care help runs through Apple Health (Medicaid) and the COPES waiver, and residents are protected by the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and DSHS Adult Protective Services. These are the same programs our advisors help families navigate at no cost.
How we help with CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
We're a free, local senior-care advisory service — families never pay us. If CRISTWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITY is on your shortlist, we can tell you how it compares to nearby licensed options on cost, care level, and availability, join the tour or the call, and help you read the DSHS record. We only earn anything if you choose to move in somewhere and are glad you did, so our incentive is a genuine fit, not a particular building. We'll also flag good alternatives in Shoreline that don't compensate us.
About this page: the facility facts above come from current Washington DSHS (ALTSA / Residential Care Services) licensing data. We don't publish unverified reviews or ratings — we share the public record and help you evaluate the provider in person. Confirm the current license at fortress.wa.gov/dshs/adsaapps/lookup before you sign anything.