River Ridge at Avon

Is River Ridge at Avon a licensed assisted living provider in Connecticut?

Yes. Care at River Ridge at Avon, 101 Bickford Ext, Avon, CT 06001, is provided under Connecticut DPH Assisted Living Services Agency license ALSA.0000135, held by BAL Avon LLC. The license is active and runs to September 30, 2028.

In Connecticut the license belongs to the care agency, not the building. The apartments are a Managed Residential Community that registers with DPH; the ALSA is the entity DPH surveys and can discipline, so its license number is the one to check.

The licensee name on the state record is BAL Avon LLC. That legal name is what you will find in eLicense and on DPH correspondence, even though families know the community as River Ridge at Avon.

How long has River Ridge at Avon held its DPH license?

The current license was issued December 1, 2008. DPH records show 1 earlier assisted living license at the same address, most recently Laurel Gardens of Avon (ALSA.0000081, now inactive), so the community has changed hands or names before.

• Laurel Gardens of Avon — ALSA.0000081, issued July 1, 2004, now inactive

A new license number usually follows a change of owner or operator. Ask who the current owner and management company are, what changed in staffing after the transition, and whether residency agreements were reissued.

Has DPH taken enforcement action against River Ridge at Avon?

None reported. BAL Avon LLC does not appear in any DPH Regulatory Action Report from 2022 through 2026 or on DPH's Health Care Facility Regulatory Action Orders page, the two places DPH publishes consent orders, fines and other formal actions.

DPH surveys ALSAs for licensure and investigates complaints, but it does not post routine ALSA inspection reports online; a 2024 legislative audit recommended a public, searchable source for them, and it has not been built. To see the latest survey, ask the agency for its most recent DPH survey letter and any plan of correction. Agencies receive these directly and can share them.

Check the license yourself in the eLicense License Lookup (number 135), and report a concern through DPH's complaint portal.

Does River Ridge at Avon offer memory care in Avon?

Yes, according to the operator. Operator lists assisted living and "Mind & Memory Care" under the same roof. In Connecticut that is the agency's dementia special care unit or program, which requires DPH approval and a signed disclosure for every resident.

Connecticut law (CGS § 19a-562) requires every dementia special care unit to give families a written disclosure covering its philosophy, placement and discharge criteria, staffing ratios and training, the physical setting, activities and extra fees. Ask for it before you tour. Since 2022 each ALSA must also file a list of its units and a staffing plan with DPH (DPH Blast Fax 2022-2).

Care levels checked October 24, 2026 at benchmarkseniorliving.com.

Where is River Ridge at Avon located in Avon, CT?

River Ridge at Avon is at 101 Bickford Ext, Avon, CT 06001, in Hartford County. Hospitals families in Avon commonly use include UConn Health (John Dempsey Hospital) and Saint Francis Hospital.

Avon sits in the Farmington Valley along Routes 44 and 202, between Farmington, Simsbury and Canton.

2 other licensed assisted living agencies operate in Avon: Arden Courts of Avon, The Residence at Brookside.

If needs later go beyond assisted living, Avon has 2 DPH-licensed nursing homes (Apple Rehab Avon, Avon Health Center); see the nursing home list.

Veterans and surviving spouses are served by VA Connecticut (Newington campus) and may qualify for VA Aid & Attendance toward assisted living costs.

How does River Ridge at Avon compare with other assisted living in Hartford County?

River Ridge at Avon is one of 35 licensed Assisted Living Services Agencies in Hartford County. 26 of them list memory care (4 as dedicated memory care communities), and 9 are mid-renewal on the current DPH record.

Nearby and similar agencies in Hartford County, from the same DPH records:

*Operator-stated.

How much does River Ridge at Avon cost per month?

Connecticut does not publish prices for individual assisted living communities, so ask River Ridge at Avon for its written rate sheet. Across Greater Hartford, this site's 2026 research puts typical assisted living at $6,000–$8,500/mo and memory care at $7,500–$10,000/mo.

Most communities price rent (the MRC apartment) and care (the agency's services) separately, and care is often tiered by hours or points. Get both in writing, and ask what happens to the care fee after a hospital stay or a fall.

HUSKY C Medicaid does not pay assisted living rent. The Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) can pay for the agency's care services in participating communities; see our CHCPE guide.

What should you ask when touring River Ridge at Avon?

Ask River Ridge at Avon for three documents before anything else (its latest DPH survey letter, its rate sheet and the residency agreement), then cover staffing and move-out triggers.

• The license changed from Laurel Gardens of Avon to the current licensee. What changed in management and staffing?
• May we see your dementia special care unit disclosure statement, and when was it last updated?
• Has DPH approved your dementia special care unit or program, and what staffing plan did you file?
• What annual dementia-specific training do direct-care staff complete?
• Which company holds the DPH Assisted Living Services Agency license here, and is it the same company that owns the building?
• What is the full monthly fee for my parent's care level, and what triggers a move to a higher tier?
• How many aides and nurses are on duty overnight, and for how many residents?
• Which care needs would require a move to a nursing home?

Visit twice, once at a meal. If problems come up after move-in, the CT Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program advocates for assisted living residents as well as nursing home residents.

How does moving into River Ridge at Avon work?

Moving into River Ridge at Avon starts with a nursing assessment by the agency's registered nurse, who writes the service plan your parent's care is built on; Connecticut rules have the ALSA review that plan at least every 120 days.

• Housing and care terms. The Managed Residential Community's residency agreement covers the apartment and the ALSA's terms cover care; they may be one document or two. Read the admission, discharge and fee-increase terms before paying a deposit.
• Memory care admission. Placement in River Ridge at Avon's dementia special care unit follows the criteria in its written disclosure; ask how a resident moves between assisted living and memory care, and what that does to the monthly fee.
• Medications. Find out whether your parent will self-administer, get help from certified aides, or have a nurse give medications, since that changes both care and cost.
• Payment. Rent is private pay; long-term care insurance, VA Aid & Attendance and, in participating communities, CHCPE can offset the care portion.

If River Ridge at Avon has no opening, ask to join its waitlist and keep touring; availability across the Capitol Region changes month to month.

Frequently asked questions