HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — As the elderly population grows, the senior living industry is expanding its offerings.

Adult Family Care Homes are residential care facilities that offer older adults an alternative to large institutions when they cannot age in place.

Hillsborough County now has over 30 of these homes, with half of them developed within the last two years, according to the Agency for Health Care Administration.

“I specifically purchased this property just for this purpose,” said Natacha Delince, who has worked in the corporate sector as a licensed nursing home administrator for nearly a decade.

The army veteran, who specializes in elderly care, opened Lamercie Health Care in Ruskin: one of the newest Adult Family Care Homes in Hillsborough County.

She says it’s an option for long-term care that few people are aware exists.

The health administrator says the group homes are affordable, yet often overlooked.

“A lot of time when people end up in the hospital or in a rush trying to find placement, it’s not something that is discussed,” she said.

Delince said the benefits of Adult Family Care Homes are rarely discussed, like the lower price and higher staff-to-client ratio.

“Many of my referrals come from the larger-assisted living facilities, surprisingly,” she said. “Families just want to look at one-on-one care because there is a shortage of healthcare workers out there and the larger institutions are impacted.”

Florida limits its Adult Family Care Homes to five residents at most, and the family-oriented setting distinguishes this option from assisted living communities and nursing homes.

“The biggest difference with the adult family care home and other assisted living facilities and residential living facilities is that the provider is required to live in the home,” said Delince.

She says this way, providers are vested in the cleanliness of the home, care for patients and communication with their families.

“It’s quaint enough where they can text me and ask me, ‘how is my mom doing?’” she said. “You become relatives.”

Family members can also have in-person visits or FaceTime calls with loved ones.Adult Family Care Homes offer an alternative to larger institutions.

These are amenities Delince said she would have strongly considered if she was aware they existed when her own mother became ill.

“I was in the military and back in 2007. My mother was diagnosed with brain cancer and from there, things happened pretty fast. Surgery didn’t help. She did radiation and chemotherapy that didn’t assist either and in the hospital, the social worker said, ‘Okay, we are going to have to transfer Mom to a nursing home,’” she said.

The single mother was forced to leave the military to care for her mother and daughter.

Delince’s own experiences have inspired her to create an option for others to decide on.

“My mom gave me life when she birthed me and she gave me purpose when she died,” she said.

The home is nicknamed ‘Mercie’s Place’ to honor her mother’s legacy. She hopes it will be a home and extended family that the elders of this community can benefit from plans.