Honolulu Senior AdvisorWhat do Oahu families ask about care home?
Care homes and foster family homes are Hawaii's signature senior care settings, and the vocabulary (ARCH, E-ARCH, CCFFH) confuses almost everyone at first. These answers use the state's own definitions and roster counts.
Questions about adult residential care homes, expanded ARCHs and foster family homes on Oahu. Each answer below is written to stand on its own.
What is an ARCH?
An adult residential care home: a licensed home giving 24-hour care to adults who need help with daily activities but not nursing facility care. Type I homes have five or fewer residents.
What is an E-ARCH?
An expanded ARCH, licensed to also care for residents at nursing facility level of care, with an RN case manager for each such resident.
What is a CCFFH?
A community care foster family home: a family home certified to care for two (or three) adults at nursing facility level of care, built around Med-QUEST.
How many care homes are on Oahu?
OHCA's April 2026 roster lists 455 licensed ARCHs and expanded ARCHs on Oahu with 2,622 beds, plus 1,111 certified foster family homes.
Where are most Oahu care homes?
Mostly in Leeward and town neighborhoods: Honolulu (178), Waipahu (122), Pearl City (36), Aiea (32).
Can couples live together in a care home?
Sometimes. Ask whether a home has a shared room and how it prices it. Foster family homes can take a married or civil-union private-pay couple only in limited cases.
Do care homes accept wheelchairs?
Many do. OHCA's roster includes a wheelchair column for each home; our care home roster shows it.
How do we find an opening?
Call homes on the roster in your preferred area, ask a hospital social worker or case management agency, or ask us; openings change weekly.
What does a care home's licensed capacity include?
Up to three day care clients count toward an ARCH's licensed capacity (HAR 11-100.1-3), so a five-bed home may not have five overnight residents.
Do care homes have inspection reports online?
Yes. OHCA posts state licensing inspection reports for ARCHs and expanded ARCHs on its website under HRS 321-1.8.
Can a care home give insulin injections?
In an expanded ARCH, injectable medications are given by a licensed nurse unless the physician permits self-injection, and the RN case manager may delegate the task under Board of Nursing rules (HAR 11-100.1-89).
At a glance
| These answers are | These answers are not | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Hawaii rules, state rosters and agency pages | Hearsay or marketing |
| Scope | Oahu and Hawaii-specific | Generic national answers |
| Use | A starting point for your own questions | Legal, tax or medical advice |
| Freshness | Checked in October 2026 | Permanent; rules and figures change |
