Is Memory Care Right For Your Loved One?

 

Handling a loved one who has Alzheimer’s or dementia can be overwhelming and difficult. When it becomes too much to handle, you may want to consider memory care. This is a form of care provided by trained staff to such patients in specialized facilities. There are slight differences between assisted living and memory care facilities.

Some assisted living facilities may have a specialized unit for those that require memory care. This secure dementia unit ensures additional assistance and safety is provided for those in need. These units have features such as emergency alert systems, secure courtyards, color-coded hallways, automatic bathroom lights, and 24-hour care.

You may also have questions such as ‘what is the average stay in memory care?’ This could be two to three years, but this depends on many factors, such as the person’s physical health, the type of ailment, disease progression, and their family’s preferences.

If you have someone in need of memory care, conduct thorough research on such facilities. Find out about ongoing staff training, the level of care provided, the types of facilities and amenities, the types of activities provided, and the average length of stay in memory care unit for such patients.

Updated 6/2/22.

Caring for a senior with Alzheimer’s disease can become difficult for family members tasked with offering support for the senior. When occasions like this arise, many families seek out Alzheimer’s disease assisted living facilities to secure assisted memory care for their seniors. These facilities offer specialized care for seniors experiencing memory issues.

Professional caregivers in these facilities are skilled in providing assistance and personalized care for seniors in their everyday activities. An Alzheimers assisted living facility usually boasts a structured environment and set routines to lessen the stress seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease face in everyday living. Seniors in such facilities also benefit from tracking bracelets and carefully designed activities that improve cognitive function and memory.

When deciding on which Alzheimer’s assisted living facility is the right fit for your senior, you must consider important features of the living facility such as the environment, staff, food and activities, and the assisted living cost. An ideal assisted memory care facility should be excellent all-around. It’s also important to ask if they accept insurance coverage such as Medicaid.

If you’re seeking an Alzheimer’s assisted living facility for seniors, an assisted living dementia care near me can help you detail care facilities at your location.

Providing quality elderly care is one of the best things you could do for a loved one. As family member begin to transition into their elder years, they often rely on nursing homes or assisted living homes in calling their new residence. The upkeep of a home becomes too taxing for many elders, and they opt for assisted care to enjoy the remainder of their lives fulfilling things they never had time to. In the U.S the elderly population is beginning to disappear because most people are continuing to work throughout their golden years to provide for themselves. According to U.S standards, the current age of retirement is 63 years old, and many people decide to live in an assisted living facility to benefit their active lifestyle. But what about those who aren’t fully capable of doing for themselves? There’s an alternative for them as well, memory care.

What’s Memory Care?

Memory care assistance is specified to meet the needs of elders who suffer from Alzheimer’s. The care center is architecturally designed to be easier to maneuver than assisted living facilities to keep patients stress-level at a minimum. A memory care does not have individual kitchens and other living spaces for their residents for safety purposes, and enclosed spaces to keep patients from wandering off into a potentially dangerous situation. Most memory care centers provide additional security to ensure patient’s safety from themselves and others while still accessing freedoms, such as nature watching and socializing with others. Memory care homes also significantly differ from assisted living from the environment—patients with Alzheimer’s tended to become confused easily and stressed which makes comforting spaces to gather a necessity, such as a television room, bright paintings, and halls with natural lighting.

Why Is Memory Care Better Than Nursing Homes?

Memory care is specially trained to deal with dementia patients, which allows them a better understanding of their needs and actions in comparison to a nursing home where most staff receive general training. Nursing home staff have been known to mistreat elderly patients, particularly those with Alzheimer’s who cannot do for themselves. Some patients are abused simply because of their illness, making nursing homes an environment that many family members are wary of placing their loved ones in. Memory care staff is trained to assist patients with everyday activities (i.e., bathing, changing clothes, eating) that they would otherwise forget to do. Patients with Alzheimer’s can also depict erratic behavior that leads some medical officials unsure of how to interact with them—memory care professionals are trained to know the causes of their actions and how to react in a way that won’t startle or anger the patient.

Where Can I Find Memory Cares?

Memory facilities is a relatively new method of elder care that focus on how dementia patients interact in an environment that is suitable to their needs instead of being immersed with people who suffer from all illnesses. There is a memory care located in Escondido, CA where this alternative method of medical attention is accepted as one of the leading care facilities for those who have Alzheimer’s.