Finding the Right Memory Care Services
When the time comes for your loved one living with Alzheimer’s to move into a memory care facility, finding the right memory care services is crucial. It is important to focus on three key areas as you make your choice: the facility’s offerings, overall well-being, and social activities. Each area is essential to the physical and emotional health of your loved one.
Memory care facilities should offer:
- 24/7 security specific to Alzheimer’s patients and the challenge of wandering (secured elevators, fenced in outside area, facility entrance doors that lock, etc.)
- A non-institutional design reminiscent of home or neighborhood setting
- Private rooms for independence and privacy
- 24/7 medical/nursing/staffing
- Family support and education
Overall well-being includes services that keep your loved one healthy while staying in a residential dementia care home. Compassionate Alzheimer’s nursing homes offer these services so their residents can continue to live their lives with dignity and independence. Some of the overall care services include:
- Daily safety checks – Inspection of living space (obstacles in pathways, no expired food, etc.)
- Structure and routines – Help dementia patients make sense of their day
- Monitoring of medication – Ensures medications are taken as prescribed
- Medical evaluations – Conducted by nurses and doctors on a routine basis, and in emergencies
- Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy – Available on an as needed basis
- Personal Hygiene – Help with bathing, dressing, grooming, and sometime on-site beauty salons
- Homemade meals and snacks
- Housekeeping and Laundry
Finally, a dementia care facility must offer social and community activities. These should focus on cognition and physical activity and include the six senses. It is important you understand your loved one’s condition and accept their limitations. Activities should be enjoyable and engaging, not a source of stress. These activities are a great way to communicate with someone living with dementia. Activities bring back fond memories and joy. Some examples of activities include:
- Art – Helps with self-expression. Examples: coloring, collages, ceramics, painting
- Exercise – Focuses on balance and strength. Examples: chair yoga, tai chi, stretching, etc.
- Music and dancing – Evokes mood, emotions, memory
- Group activities – Creates a sense of community. Examples: games like bingo, walking, movie night, mock “shopping excursions”
If you focus on finding a memory care home that excels in these three key services – facility offerings, overall well-being, and social activities – your loved one with Alzheimer’s can continue to live a life that includes fun, dignity, and independence.