A river town with two sides
Winona sits on a narrow strip of floodplain, with Lake Winona on one side, the Mississippi on the other and limestone bluffs rising behind both. That geography shapes almost every senior living question here. Streets near the river are flat and walkable; neighborhoods climbing toward the bluffs are steep and slick in winter. Many families also have a foot in Wisconsin, because La Crosse is a short drive down the river and the bridge to the Wisconsin shore is part of everyday life.
Start by asking your parent which part of town feels like home. A retired teacher from the college neighborhoods may want to stay near campus events and the lake trail. A parent who farmed in the hills above town may care more about easy parking for visitors and a short drive to church. Most searches stay inside Winona County, and the answer often comes down to which end of the city, and which hospital, the family already knows.
Hospitals in Winona and La Crosse
Winona Health Services is the hospital in town, on Mankato Avenue, and it's listed in the federal hospital registry kept by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. For heavier specialty care, many Winona families drive to La Crosse, where Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center is one of the larger hospitals on the Wisconsin side.
That split matters when you tour. Ask each community where its residents are usually sent in an emergency, whether its nurses work with doctors on both sides of the river, and how residents get to appointments in La Crosse if family can't drive them. A move that keeps your parent near a familiar doctor is worth more than a nicer lobby.
Living with the Mississippi
The river is part of the town's identity, and part of its risk. According to the National Weather Service gauge, the Mississippi River at Winona reaches minor flood stage at 13 feet; its record crest was 20.77 feet on April 19, 1965, and it rose to 18.81 feet in April 2023. Spring is the usual flood season here, when snowmelt from farther north arrives in Winona weeks later.
A building can be dry while the roads around it are not. Families should look at how a community reaches the hospital, the grocery store and the highway out of town during high water, not only whether the building itself has flooded.
Winona riverfront and bluff tour checklist
- Ask whether the building or its parking lot took water when the Mississippi at Winona crested at 18.81 feet in April 2023.
- Find out which route the community's van uses to reach Winona Health Services if streets near the Winona riverfront are closed.
- On a winter visit, drive the streets between the community and the Winona bluffs yourself and judge whether your parent could manage them.
- Ask how residents get to specialists in La Crosse, and who pays for that trip across the Mississippi.
- Check whether residents can walk to Lake Winona or a nearby park on a mild day, and whether the path is level.
- Ask how staff who live across the river in Wisconsin get to work when the Winona bridge or nearby highways are slow or closed.
- Learn whether the community's plan for a spring flood in Winona County includes moving residents, and where they would go.
Help from the area agency on aging
Working from Rochester, the Southeastern Minnesota Area Agency on Aging serves Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha and Winona counties; its main line is 507-288-6944, and its Minnesota Aging Pathways line is 1-800-333-2433. The Pathways specialists can talk through in-home help, caregiver support, Medicare questions and housing changes. A call there before touring helps you learn whether staying home a while longer, with some services added, is realistic.
The agency's Winona County resource list is a good map of what already exists. It names the Friendship Center in Winona as the county's staffed senior center, at 507-454-5212. If your parent still lives at home, the Friendship Center can be a low-pressure way to meet people, and the friendships formed there can carry over after a move.
Getting around without the car
Giving up the keys is often the hardest part of this decision. Winona Transit's Dial-A-Ride runs Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; rides are scheduled with dispatch at 507-454-6666, and the city offers no senior fare discount. It is curb-to-curb service, so drivers don't help riders into homes or buildings.
Ask every community whether it offers its own transportation, how far it will go, and whether trips to La Crosse are included. If your parent will rely on Dial-A-Ride, check that the building has a covered pickup spot.
Veterans near Winona
The La Crosse VA Clinic, part of VA Tomah health care, is at 4000 State Road 16 in the Valley View Mall Annex in La Crosse and offers primary care and mental health care. If your parent served, ask whether a community will help with VA appointments across the river, and ask the VA about Aid and Attendance, a benefit for qualifying veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities.
Someone on the resident's side
Minnesota's long-term care ombudsman program is a statewide service that takes calls at 800-657-3591. Ombudsmen work for residents, not for the building, and they help sort out complaints about care, rights or a move-out notice. Write that number on the inside of your parent's address book after move-in.
How Minnesota oversees assisted living
Minnesota places assisted living in two categories: assisted living facilities, and assisted living facilities with dementia care, which must meet added requirements for residents with memory loss. State health regulators inspect both kinds. When your parent's memory is changing, ask which category a Winona community holds and what happens if needs grow. The state's facility search is linked in the directory disclaimer at the bottom of this page.
What care costs in Minnesota
The table below shows Minnesota's statewide medians from the CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025. Local prices vary, and a Winona community may charge more or less than those figures depending on the apartment, the level of care and what is bundled into the base rate. Ask for written pricing, the care fee schedule and how often rates have gone up in recent years.
Questions Winona families ask
Should Dad move closer to us in the Twin Cities or stay in Winona?
If his doctors, church and friends are in Winona, staying usually protects more of his life. If the family member doing most of the helping lives hours away, a move toward them may matter more. Talk it through with him before deciding.
Who can explain services in Winona County?
Call the Southeastern Minnesota Area Agency on Aging. Its Minnesota Aging Pathways line at 1-800-333-2433 is free, and its specialists know the Winona County services well.
Is flooding a real concern for senior housing in Winona?
It can be. The river has crested above 18 feet as recently as April 2023. Ask about the building, the parking lot and the roads, and ask where residents would go if they had to leave.
How do we look up a Minnesota community's record?
Use the state search linked in the directory disclaimer at the bottom of this page, then ask the community directly about its most recent state inspection and how it answered any findings.
Next steps
Read our guides to assisted living and memory care, call the Minnesota Aging Pathways line, and bring the Winona checklist on every tour. When you want to talk it over with someone who knows the area, ask for a callback below. One local advisor will call you back, at no cost.