Care Homes & Geriatric Care in Monaco

Two different systems

Monaco separates residential living for older people from hospital geriatric medicine, and the two are entered by different doors. Residences — A Qietüdine, the Fondation Hector Otto sites and Cap Fleuri — are places to live. The Centre de Gérontologie Clinique Rainier III is a hospital: acute geriatrics, rehabilitation, long-term care and the memory clinic. Knowing which one a situation calls for saves weeks.

If the goal is to keep someone at home rather than move them, start with the home support services guide instead — the Centre de Coordination Gérontologique (CCGM), on (+377) 98 98 42 03 or freephone 8000 6000, is the assessment point for both routes.

Centre de Gérontologie Clinique Rainier III

The hospital arm of Monaco's geriatric care, part of the Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace, at 1 avenue Pasteur. It is organised into two departments — clinical gerontology with the memory clinic, and acute geriatrics — and it is the centrepiece of the gerontology programme the Princely Government has been building since 2003.

What it contains

• Mobile gerontology unit — cross-cutting geriatric expertise supporting other CHPG teams on assessment and treatment strategy.
• Geriatric consultation — rapid specialist opinion, dependency assessment, orientation within the care pathway, preparation for a move into an institution, using standardised geriatric assessment.
• Memory clinic — assessment and follow-up of cognitive disorders, with a multidisciplinary team and the CHPG's technical platform. Tel. (+377) 99 99 55 77.
• Clinical research unit — manages Alzheimer's and geriatric clinical trials locally.
• Acute geriatrics — planned and unplanned admissions from home or from other CHPG departments, for older patients with multiple conditions, infections, geriatric syndromes and neurological or vascular problems.
• Rehabilitation (soins de suite et réadaptation) — the step between acute care and going home, on a personalised therapeutic plan.
• Long-term care units — for patients with substantial loss of autonomy and/or chronic or unstable conditions requiring sustained medical and technical care.
• Cognitive-behavioural unit and the Denis Ravera unit, with access to secure gardens, for people who need freedom of movement in a safe environment.

The building in numbers: 210 single rooms with a shower, averaging 22 m²; 7 inpatient units; one consultation floor; 2 secure gardens; 3 physiotherapy rooms; 2 terraces on the 8th floor; a recreation room, a dental surgery and an ophthalmology surgery. There is a shop (Mon–Fri 1.30–5.30pm), a hairdresser, a chapel, and electric buggies with a driver to move around the site — Monday to Friday 7.30am–8pm, weekends 10am–8pm.

For families: a shuttle serves the centre for relatives of gerontology patients, arriving at 11.13 and 14.47 and leaving at 17.25 and 18.00, subject to available seats. In the long-term care units and the 6th-floor rehabilitation service you can eat with your relative by buying meal tickets at reception — booked and paid at least 48 hours ahead, reception open daily 1–6pm.

Admission and fees

The Centre Rainier III admits people covered by the Caisses Sociales de Monaco. Formalities go through the CHPG admissions office, and an officer will come to you if travelling is difficult. For a long-term care unit, admission requires Monegasque nationality or residence in Monaco for the period set by the Princely Government — an administrative appointment is arranged to guide you through it.

Bring: Monegasque ID card or Monaco residence permit; social insurance card if affiliated to a Monegasque fund; complementary health insurance card; private insurance card if not affiliated to a Monegasque fund; and, where a legal protection measure exists (guardianship, curatorship), a copy of the court decision with the administrator's address and phone number.

Fees are set by the Princely Government and published in the Journal de Monaco, available on request from the gerontology directorate or the admissions office. Monaco's Aide Sociale can contribute to the "dependency" and "accommodation" packages after an individual assessment.

The residences

A Qietüdine

Monaco's public retirement home, and the first medicalised one in the Principality. 5–7 avenue du Port, 98000 Monaco — (+377) 99 99 79 00. Seventy single rooms, run by the CHPG, for people over 60. Its position is its main argument: a few steps from Place d'Armes, at the foot of the Rock and close to Port Hercule, so residents stay inside city life rather than on its edge.

Fondation Hector Otto

The foundation runs two residences and gives priority to applicants with limited resources.

• Résidence Charles et Marcelle Bellando de Castro — 12 rue Princesse Florestine, 98000 Monaco, (+377) 93 15 52 15. For applicants over 60 and under 85, able-bodied and independent, Monegasque or meeting the residency conditions.
• Résidences Giaume / Chamot-Drappier — 20 avenue Hector Otto, 98000 Monaco, (+377) 93 15 20 50. For people over 60 with a recognised loss of independence (level 3–4), Monegasque or meeting the residency conditions.

Website: fondation-otto.mc

Résidence du Cap Fleuri

The largest of the residences, and the one outside the Principality: 45 avenue du 3 septembre, 06320 Cap d'Ail, France — (+33) 4 92 41 61 00, run by the CHPG. It accommodates up to 78 residents aged over 65, Monegasque or resident in the Principality and meeting the social welfare conditions. Cap d'Ail is immediately west of Fontvieille, so it is closer to central Monaco than the French address suggests.

Memory disorders and Alzheimer's

Three structures work together and it is worth knowing all three names:

• The memory clinic at the Centre Rainier III, for diagnosis and follow-up.
• The Centre Speranza-Albert II, a therapeutic day centre for Monaco residents with Alzheimer's disease or a related cognitive disorder — the option that lets someone stay at home while giving the household daytime relief.
• AMPA (Association Monégasque pour la recherche sur la maladie d'Alzheimer), which runs a psycho-educational programme for family carers together with the memory clinic, the CCGM and the Speranza-Albert II day centre.

Choosing between them

Where this connects

• Senior services at home in Monaco — the CCGM, home helps, meals, téléalarme and free transport
• The CHPG hospital guide and the healthcare system
• Retiring to Monaco and residency for retirees
• CCSS and social security
• Inheritance law in Monaco and settling a succession
• Emergency numbers