What To Look For in a Memory Care Facility

Posted on Mar 31, 2020 in Dementia Care

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, around 70% of seniors will need some type of long-term care, whether in a memory care facility or nursing home.

If you have an elderly loved one who is starting to struggle at home as dementia progresses beyond the early stages and starts menacing their daily activities, what can you do?

Well, a Landmark assisted living facility is key. This ensures your elderly senior gets all the help they need with cooking, washing, and cleaning.

The Alzheimer’s Association states that more than half of the millions of Americans in assisted living centers are suffering from dementia.

If you’re looking to find the most appropriate community for your elderly relative, how about considering a dedicated memory care facility?

What Is Memory Care?

Memory care communities are typically separate units or wings of residential care facilities.

A great memory care facility will be equipped to help anyone with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia’s.

The core goal of memory care is to provide highly personalized care leading to an enhanced quality of life for anyone with an impaired memory.

Environments are designed to minimize confusion and qualified staff on call can help deal with the spillover issues and complications resulting from a population with flagging memories.

If you have an aging loved one who needs specialist care, what should you look out for when you’re interviewing and evaluating facilities?

We’ll showcase some core areas so you can streamline your decision and maximize the chances of finding a memory care unit ideally suited to your senior relative.

5 Things To Consider When You’re Evaluating a Memory Care Facility

Make Sure The Facility is Familiar with Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Address Practicalities Before You Go Any Further
Focus On Quality of Care
Is The Activity and Social Program Suitable?
Are Costs Transparent?

1) Make Sure The Facility is Familiar with Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Make certain to probe the focus of the community you’re considering.

Is the specific purpose of the unit caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia? If not, is there a dedicated memory care wing in the facility?

You need to be confident that there’s sufficient security and supervision to prevent wandering, behavior typically associated with dementia.

You should determine whether the staff appear knowledgeable and able to field basic queries about memory care.

Consider asking the following questions to gain a better understanding of the facility as a whole:

How often are staff trained?
What’s the staff/patient ratio? Is this constant or does it change overnight and at weekends?
Can your loved one expect help with cleaning and dressing following any instance of incontinence?
Is any therapeutic support offered?
Are residents encouraged to be as active as possible?
What protocol is in place for aggression or bad behavior?

By structuring your questions like this, you can decide for yourself whether the facility appears to offer adequate expertise.

Next up, you should double down on some essential practicalities…

2) Address Practicalities Before You Go Any Further

Customize this list of practical questions and use this as inspiration to work from:

Is the facility fully certified and licensed?
Can you expect to find a waiting list? If so, how long does it typically take before your loved one can be admitted?
How many rooms and beds are there in the facility? Is there a choice in terms of accommodation?
Is transportation in place for residents? If so, is this for doctor’s appointments, shopping, and errands? Is there any extra charge?
Are there specific policies in place for wheelchairs?
How are medications managed?

As we say, if you brainstorm using this list of questions, you can make sure you ask the memory care facility you’re exploring everything you need to know.

With those basics in place, there’s ultimately only one thing that counts: the quality of care.

3) Focus On Quality of Care

If your elderly loved one has Alzheimer’s or any other form of progressive dementia, you need to be confident they’ll receive specialist care.

Once you’ve shortlisted some facilities, it’s worth paying a visit at different times of day. This will help you get an overall feel for the quality of care on display.

When you’re visiting, make sure to speak with residents and their family members as well as staff.

Eat meals at the facility so you can get a close idea of cleanliness and the level of care provided.

You should establish the type of health professionals available on a daily basis.

Is there sufficient supervised outdoor activity? Getting some fresh air is beneficial for dementia sufferers.

How about structured activities? Are these available and what are they?

Is it possible for you to hire in outside helpers if required? This can impact any financial assistance from Medicaid so it’s worth doubling down on.

As with every element of this decision, you can assess quality of care over a broad series of areas. Take your time and make sure everything seems right before you commit.

4) Is The Activity and Social Program Suitable?

Your elderly loved one has plenty of time on their hands. Does the memory care facility you’re looking at provide enough entertainment and social activities?

If so, are these activities in line with your loved one’s interests?

Once you’ve discovered there are activities in place, check if the program is generic or individualized. You should expect some form of music, exercise, and art on a daily basis as standard.

How does the facility view pet therapy?

What special activities take place during the year?

You should address all these concerns when you’re shortlisting memory care units.

5) Are Costs Transparent?

While we’ve saved it for last, cost is arguably one of the determining factors when it comes to a choice of suitable memory care units.

Ask the following questions to assess whether the cost is transparent:

What is the monthly cost and what’s included in terms of services?
Are there any placement fees?
How is payment accepted?
Can you get additional benefits at extra charge?
Does the facility accept insurance or Medicaid?

What To Do Next

Take your time looking for a landmark senior living memory care facility. You owe it to your nearest and dearest to help them make the right decision.

At Landmark Senior Living, our communities offer the MorningStar Memory Care Program to help all residents suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. Simplify your search for a memory care facility and contact us today for a free brochure of your nearest Landmark senior living community.

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