Where is the best place for someone with dementia?

People living with dementia need a safe place to live. Depending on the level of care needed to ensure their safety, individuals might do well at home for a time, but most people suffering dementia or Alzheimer’s will require 24/7 care that provides assistance with activities of daily living such as meal preparation and medication management. 

When does someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s need to go into Assisted Living?

When a person’s needs are not being met at home, it is time to look for help. Physical signs of needing to move are often related to personal hygiene such as trouble showering or doing laundry. If someone cannot prepare food safely or cannot leave home without getting lost or confused, Assisted Living can provide a safe environment. Other factors include frequently being lonely, a sudden decline in health, and caregiver stress/fatigue.

What are the signs of dementia getting worse?

Dementia is a progressive, meaning that it always gets worse over time. This process is different for every person. Age, general health, and the specific, underlying disease causing brain damage will all affect the pattern of progression. The signs that dementia are getting worse are often those that prompt a move to an assisted living or memory care facility: safety concerns, inability to care for themselves including cooking, managing medication, and personal hygiene.

Will moving a person with dementia make it worse?

Normally, no. Moving a person with dementia is a difficult choice for families, but it does not harm the person with dementia or accelerate the disease. Moving individuals with dementia into an environment that is focused on their needs can actually help them by reducing feelings of anxiety and frustration that arise from not being able to function as they once did in a familiar environment.

How often should you visit a spouse or loved one in memory care?

Increasing age, memory loss, and overall declining health reduce the ability to focus for long periods of time. A short visit from a friend or family member is just as good as a long one and is often better. A long visit that leaves the resident exhausted at the end is counterproductive. Stopping by regularly for a cup of coffee and a hug will do more to lift the spirits of a loved one with dementia than a half-day once a month on the weekend.

What does a memory caregiver do?

A dementia caregiver provides ongoing, quality care for an individual suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other cognitive decline. Caregivers assist with the normal activities that residents can no longer perform for themselves. These activities include meal preparation, medication, dressing, bathing, and incontinence.

What should I look for in touring an Assisted Living facility?

After determining the facility is a licensed facility and presumably equipped to care for individuals living with dementia, the most important consideration in any facility is how the residents are treated. The resident to staff ratio is an important indicator of how much time the residents receive from their caregivers.  If there are 20 residents and 2 staff (10:1 ratio), the staff will spend less time with each resident than if there are 20 residents and 4 staff (5:1 ratio). Staff stability is another important factor: a staff of temporary employees will not know the residents as well as staff who have been working together as a care team for months or years. It is also important to learn what will happen to your loved one when the resources that are used to pay privately are exhausted.

How do you know if your loved one needs memory care?

While dementia symptoms vary greatly, families and other loved ones might consider memory care when their loved ones do not recognize friends and family members, are unable to manage finances and medical care without assistance, and when the individuals with dementia feel lost in their own homes.

How can I pay for Assisted Living for my loved one?

Many families wonder how to pay for Assisted Living. Broadly speaking, there are two methods of payment. If the resident has assets, these assets can be used to privately pay for Assisted Living. When the resident does not have personal assets or after all those assets have been used for care, government medical assistance programs will pay for Assisted Living for residents whose needs qualify them for this level of care. Two of the most common programs are Elderly Waiver (EW) and Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI).