Dementia And Memory Care Facilities

How Do I Ease My Loved One’s Transition To A Memory Care Facility

When moving a loved one to memory care, its important to be realistic about your expectations. Seniors with Alzheimers or dementia often get confused, and changes in routine may increase stress. Understand that it may take some time for your loved one to adapt.

Be optimistic about the move and the facility to help encourage your senior loved one. Focus on positive aspects, such as the programs and activities, quality of care, and social interactions.

Youve done your research and found the right memory care community for your loved one. Find comfort in knowing that providing the right type of care helps improve their quality of life, and take steps to help your family member transition.

Best For Low Staff To Resident Ratios: Belmont Village Rancho Palos Verdes

Belmont Village Rancho Palos Verdes

Why we chose it: We chose this beautiful community as best for staff to resident ratios as it offers a high level of care for its memory care residents with a 6:1 ratio.

• Licensed nurses and therapists on site

If youre looking for a high-end facility that offers everything your loved one needs and more, Belmont Village Rancho Palos Verdes in California is a great choice. The award-winning memory care facility focuses on life enrichment and making the environment as comfortable and accessible as possible to promote residents’ independence. Belmont Village has both an assisted living and a locked memory care unit, and reviews online state that staff is attentive, caring, and work hard to keep residents busy throughout the day. With the outdoor heated pool, chef-prepared meals supervised fitness center, and daily group activities, there is always something to do.

Belmont Village Rancho Palos Verdes is one of the most expensive facilities on our list. Costs vary based on individual needs. Prices are not available on the website. According to Caring.com, the residence has a 6:1 resident to staff ratio, which helps ensure that everyones needs are being met promptly, and they offer assistance with daily activities like bathing, dressing, meals, and housekeeping. Belmont Village Reviews is rated 4.7/5 on Caring.com and reviews mention things like beautiful community and great food.

Coordinates Care For Memory Care Residents

Care coordination is an important service offered at memory care facilities. Community staff work closely to assess residents and plan activities according to their needs and abilities.

Staff at memory care communities may also work with other health care providers to ensure residents receive the care they need. Care coordination at memory care facilities may include:

• Coordinating care with outside health care providers, such as primary care physicians, podiatrists, cardiologists, dentists, and more
• Coordinating home health appointments for residents recovering from illnesses or injuries
• Transportation to medical appointments
• Medication management and diabetes support
• Coordinating rehabilitation services, such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy to bring services onsite as needed, making appointments more convenient to residents
• Coordinating hospice care while keeping residents comfortable

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What Kind Of Staffing And Certification Requirements Apply To Memory Care Facilities

Memory care facilities are regulated at the state level, therefore, the staffing and certification requirements vary throughout the country.

In general, most states require that any facility offering memory care services holds a state long-term care license. In order to fulfill licensing requirements, memory care communities must pass health and safety inspections and have a designated administrator who spends at least 40 hours on-site each week and is trained in long-term care.

Many states have adult protection laws that mandate extensive background checks for anyone who provides direct care to vulnerable adults, including caregivers who work in memory care facilities. Other common staffing and certification requirements include:

• First aid and CPR certification for all direct care staff
• Staff who administer medications must either be licensed medical professionals, or work under the direct supervision of a registered nurse
• Direct care staff must test negative for tuberculosis
• Staff needs to complete a comprehensive orientation session that includes training specific to memory care prior to commencing direct care duties
• Staff and administrators must complete ongoing annual training in supporting individuals who live with memory loss

Home Care Benefits For Seniors

Home care is a common alternative to senior living for elderly adults who can no longer live independently. There are many reasons families may choose home care versus memory care for their elderly loved one:

• Aging in place. Many seniors have lived in the same house for decades and moving to a new, often smaller, home is a difficult and emotional process.
• Level of care. Home care can be adjusted to fit new needs as a senior ages. A home care agency could provide transportation and cooking assistance to an active senior as needed, or it could offer full-time care and companionship to someone whos bedridden.
• One-on-one interaction. In-home care ensures your loved one has the entire attention of a visiting aide. In senior living communities, staff members must tend to multiple residents.

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Understand Dementia Care Plans Programs And Activities

A person-centered approach in dementia care means care is personalized to support individual needs. Many memory care facilities offer customized care. Programs and activities are planned according to residents needs and interests.

Its important to understand how dementia care plans are developed:

• Do staff take the time to get to know residents?
• Are residents interests and level of cognition taken into consideration when planning activities?
• How often are care plans updated? As dementia progresses, individual needs change.

What Type Of Care Is Best For My Elderly Loved One

Its natural to feel uncertain when you need to find the right elder care program for your family. Memory care generally offers superior results to individuals who need support with everyday life but are capable of handling many everyday tasks and functions unassisted. Dementia care is more suitable for elders with advanced neurodegeneration who experience substantial difficulty performing everyday tasks.

Rocky Mountain Assisted Living focuses on individualized care plans. When you need to find the right nursing, assisted living, or memory care facility for your elderly loved one, we can carefully review the details of your situation and help you determine what type of care would be the most beneficial for your family member while providing them with the highest level of independence in their everyday life.

We operate many different facilities throughout Colorado, each with their own unique charm, amenities, and memory care services. We understand that no two residents are exactly alike, so no two memory care plans should be exactly alike, either. Rocky Mountain Assisted Living will work with you to determine the level of care your elderly loved one requires to ensure the highest quality of living possible from our team.

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Memory Care Vs Home Care

Home care offers care for seniors with dementia who wish to age in place. It may also provide support and respite for dementia caregivers. Home care aides are trained in senior care and can provide companionship, help with activities of daily living, light housekeeping, cooking, transportation, and more.

While it offers one-on-one care tailored to individual needs, home care differs from memory care when it comes to social engagement and the specialized therapies found at memory care facilities. It may also be difficult or expensive to adapt your home to make it safe for someone with advanced dementia.

The level of care provided by home care aides is based on needs, and costs are calculated by the type of care provided. Home care fees are charged by the hour. This means that home care may be an expensive alternative to memory care, depending on how much care is needed.

How Is Dementia Care Different From Traditional Assisted Living

Although dementia care facilities offer many of the same features that assisted living homes do, there are some specific services that are designed to address dementia. These facilities generally have secured units and are typically more secure than traditional assisted living homes, and all patients have 24/7 supervision and security, which you typically would not get in an assisted living community. Dementia care facilities typically also offer specific activities for their patients that are designed for dementia, so that seniors can stay occupied and happy without feeling too overwhelmed.

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Your Loved Ones Will Get Specialized Care

You should know that most memory care facilities can specifically help you ensure the perfect level of care for people with memory disorders mentioned above. They differ entirely from assisted living communities, nursing homes, and other senior living alternatives.

Instead, these places assist people in handling activities of daily living or ADL. They offer medical and personal care, helpful activities like physical exercises, and music therapy to improve your cognitive abilities as they deal with memory loss issues and challenges.

Watch this video: to understand how to protect your loved ones when they get Alzheimers disease.

The Design Of A Memory Care Facility Is More Important Than You Think

Dementia patients can become easily overwhelmed. Engineering and design firms now recognize that large spaces can create confusion and distraction when faced with a spacious and loud environment. Because some dementia patients can function better in quiet, smaller spaces, long-term care facilities should provide options for various group sizes and more intimate settings. These cozy spaces give caregivers the opportunity to control noise and visual stimulation in order to minimize overstimulation and reduce stress.

Another important aspect of a facilitys design is how easy it is to navigate. Dementia patients feel much less anxiety when they are familiar with their surroundings. So, the design should include an intuitive building layout, visual cues for directions, and distinctive landmarks. Training patients to recognize visual markers can go a long way toward alleviating stress

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How To Treat Dementia: How Memory Care Helps

The kinds of safe, supervised social activities provided in memory care are a great way of enhancing the quality of life of a person living with dementia. Indoor and outdoor socialization helps improve the quality of life for people living with memory conditions and reduces their feeling of loneliness.

When residents participate in indoor activities like listening to music, arts and crafts, and board games, they gain valuable social opportunities that can help offset anxiety and establish positive habits. Set routines lower stress for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia. The staff support provided by trained memory care professionals helps to ensure residents are getting to meals, coming to activities and moving on to the next thing.

Consider Moving To A 55 And Older Or Retirement Community

While adding safety features in your existing home is a good option, another option to consider is moving to a community geared to older residents. While these communities may vary in cost, they often come with features that may help care for a loved one at home. Safety features such as nonslip tubs are already in place, and neighbors may have loved ones in similar situations. Many continuing-care retirement communities include areas that offer higher levels of care as a persons dementia advances. This allows a more active spouse to live independently on the same campus.

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How Does Memory Care Compare To Other Types Of Long

Memory care is similar to assisted living in that its considered to be noninstitutional care, while nursing homes are institutional. While memory care programs are often co-located within assisted living facilities, there are some distinct differences in the environment, staffing and recreational programming offered within memory care units.

This chart highlights the similarities and differences between residential memory care and other types of long-term care.

Why Is Memory Care So Expensive

Memory care includes 24 supervision and high-level assistance with daily tasks. There is often a lower staff to resident ratio than assisted living facilities, which means your family member gets the prompt attention they need. This increases the monthly rate as it requires more staff and one-on-one attention.

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Defining Memory Care And Nursing Homes

Both types of residences combine room and board with healthcare and personal care. Nursing homes are for people who cannot live at home because of medical needs, and that is also true for memory care. The difference is specialization.

The services provided in a nursing home are more comparable to a long stay in the hospital. Nursing home staff will be trained to help with the activities of daily living that dementia patients often find themselves unable to accomplish in the middle and later stages of illness. Activities of Daily Living include bathing, grooming, dressing, eating, and more. Nursing homes are typically less private than memory care because of residents need for continuous care.

Nursing homes arent specifically designed to care for people with dementia, whereas every aspect of a memory care facility is meant to help people with the acute needs that come from Alzheimers disease and related dementias. Memory care homes are also known as assisted living with memory care,dementia care, or Alzheimers care.

A nursing home will probably provide activities for residents , but they might not be right for your loved one. Classic movies or cooking classes, for example, are entertaining for most adults but someone with dementia would find them frustrating. And because sticking with routines is more important for people with dementia, scheduling and structure are emphasized in memory care.

When To Choose:

When a Nursing Home is Required

Evictions

Paying For Alzheimers Care Overview

Alzheimers disease, Lewy Body dementia, Frontotemporal dementia , and other related memory disorders and dementia affect over 5.5 million aging Americans. Depending on the stage of these diseases, individuals can require 24-hour supervision or care. This means each year in the U.S., there are billions of hours spent caring for individuals with these conditions. While the vast majority of that care is provided by friends and family members, what happens when those caregivers are not available? Who pays for Alzheimers care? Fortunately, there are many programs that provide financial assistance, respite care, and other forms of aid to help families and caregivers.

The worldwide cost of dementia care is approximately 1 trillion U.S. dollars. If dementia care were a country, it would be the worlds 17th largest economy.

Helpful Resources

• Find Affordable Elder Care

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Benefits Of Memory Care

Specialized care can help people with dementia live fuller lives.

Some people think that memory care is like a parking lot, a dead-end street that you want to stay away from as long as possible, says Pascual-Leone. But thats simply not true. Its a way to maintain function for the longest possible time.

On the other end, some people think its like rehabyou go there to get better, he adds. But its about learning and adapting to living with a disease youre never going to get rid of. You can still live with joy, enjoyment and dignity. Memory care helps you relate to those you love in the best possible way. Its not a cure or a miracle, but it maintains you and helps you function as long as possible.

Treat Your Caregiving Like A New Job

Some caretakers find that caring for a loved one with dementia is like a full-time job. A lot of time, attention and life changes can be needed to ensure the loved ones safety.

As with any job, plan by finding opportunities for short breaks. Talk with family members to see if they might be able to care for your loved one for the night. If that doesnt work, try researching other methods to avoid burnout.

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Safe And Sound Services

When it comes to memory impairment, resident safety is our top priority Our safe and sound services include:

• Emergency alert system
• 24-hour caregiver support, including bathroom assistance, bathing, dressing and grooming, meals, and escorts to activities
• Medication management
• On-staff nursing professionals
• One-on-one programming and support available
• One to two-person physical assistance with transferring
• One-person physical assistance with mobility
• Assistance with medical equipment
• Assistance with incontinence care

How Do I Choose The Right Memory Care Community

Making the decision to seek memory care for a loved one is challenging in itself, and the next step of choosing a memory care community can be incredibly difficult. To help make the process easier, weve broken it down into some key points for you to focus on. In the sections below, we offer some advice on determining when its time for your loved one to start memory care and things to look for when selecting a community.

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What Should I Look For In A Dementia Care Facility

There are many things to look for when searching for dementia care facilities for your loved one. The first thing to look for is a credentialed staff of doctors, nurses, and caretakers. You should always look into the education and training of the staff that work at the dementia care home. They should have specific experience in working with dementia patients. You should also look at what the requirements are to work there – the more stringent they are during their hiring process, the more likely they are to provide great service for their patients.

Other things to consider are the cost of the dementia care facility and how close it is to the rest of your family. Senior care can be quite expensive, so its important to find a good memory care facility that fits within your budget. If youre struggling to pay for it, talk to the staff about payment plan options, and be sure to look into Medicare as well. There are ways to lessen the financial burden involved in dementia care. Many families will also want to keep their loved ones close, and would prefer a memory care facility thats within driving distance. This is an important consideration for many reasons – not only does it allow family members to spend more time with patients, but it also means that theres someone nearby who can come by in case of an emergency.