Memory Care

Several characteristics distinguish a memory care facility from, say, an adult day center or a respite care provider, but the most significant is that these units are specifically designed to accommodate the unique needs of individuals suffering from dementia and related conditions.

If you don’t believe your loved one would need the intensive level of care offered by treatment specialists of neurocognitive decline, remember that there are many kinds of assisted living facilities available for seniors. What’s important to keep in mind is the severity of your loved one’s condition. Next to end-of-life nursing homes, memory care tends to be the most intensive and highly accommodating of all senior-centric communities.

Assisted living is a broad term that encompasses care facilities for individuals who may require help in completing some daily tasks, like cooking, cleaning, or carrying objects. However, these people do not yet need the close monitoring and skilled accommodations offered by a memory care or specialized medical facility.

Because their health and autonomy are more stable than persons with cognitive impairment, residents of an assisted living community may live alone or with a roommate to lower living expenses. That being said, assisted living is not totally independent. Like memory care units, staff is available to residents 24/7, usually to aid in tasks like driving, recreation, and various household chores and maintenance tasks.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Medicare is available for some persons with dementia or cognitive conditions that require memory care. If the patient is 65 or older and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, they are likely to qualify for coverage of inpatient hospital care, some doctor fees, and many prescription drugs.

In a limited number of situations, Medicare will cover up to 100 days of care in a skilled nursing home. In general, however, long-term care is not guaranteed, and durations of stay longer than 100 days are not accepted. That being said, end-of-life and hospice care is most always supported by the medical insurance, especially for persons experiencing the difficulties of neurocognitive disease.

At Heritage Assisted Living, we are proud to call ourselves one of the few memory care facilities that does accept Medicaid.

The short answer is both yes and no. In the early stages of dementia, the affected individual may experience milder symptoms and be able to function completely on his or her own. However, the early-stage dementia will become apparent through increasingly frequent lapses of memory, including inability to remember where objects are located or to recall specific information or names of objects and people.

In cases of middle-stage dementia, at some point a moderate form of assistance will most likely be required. However, this period tends to be the longest, often lasting for years at a time. Forgetfulness will increase along with mood disruption and possible isolation from former groups or social environments. The middle-stage dementia patient may struggle to remember what used to be basic information, even about themselves, like their birthday or address.

Other symptoms include dressing inappropriately for the weather or the occasion, experiencing disruptions to normal sleep habits, and thinking in delusional and paranoid ways. What’s very important to remember about moderate dementia is that this is the period when one’s risk for wandering off and getting lost or hurt can become a viable threat. At this time and when symptoms are deemed sufficiently serious by a medical professional, some form of assistance should absolutely be consulted.

As the neurocognitive disease progresses to its later and final forms, professional care is virtually non-negotiable.

When symptoms of late-stage dementia start becoming apparent to others around the affected individual, it may be time to look into memory care options.

Memory loss will not only affect recall of long-past events, but recent ones as well. Changes in physical ability or independence may occur, such as difficulty swallowing, a suppressed immune system, or having an extremely hard time walking without assistance.

If acts that the individual with dementia could once complete on their own — such as eating, cleaning, bathing, or driving — become too difficult to execute unassisted, there’s little choice left but to look into memory care, both for your own wellbeing and the wellbeing of your loved one.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s are both manifestations of neurocognitive decline that tend to appear in the later years of life. Unless an individual suffers from the comparatively rare early-onset Alzheimers, noticeable symptoms of dementia occur no sooner than age 60.

The primary difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s is a matter of scope, specificity, and prognosis. Dementia refers broadly to the symptoms associated with declining neurocognitive performance in relation to memory, linguistic abilities, and the completion of daily tasks. By extension, Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia, but this particular variety gets progressively worse with time and has no known cure.

Essentially, you can differentiate dementia from Alzheimer’s by considering the former a syndrome (a collection of symptoms) and the latter as a progressive disease.

Different insurance providers will have differing approaches to coverage of memory care. Please contact and check with your personal insurance provider to determine if care will be covered.