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How To Get Memory Care for Alzheimer’s

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When your loved one develops memory problems such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, you should take them to a memory care community.

What is included in memory care? Well, memory care communities take care of their residents and ensure they are comfortable throughout their stay in the facility.

Besides the medical procedures and support that are provided in the hospital, memory care communities offer necessities and lifestyle enhancements that include:

Accommodation 

All memory care communities, including memory care from Vivante Living, provide housing to their residents. The accommodation includes both private and semi-private rooms where one resident shares a room with another. The good thing is all rooms have attached bathrooms to provide optimum privacy.

To reduce stress in the residents and give them the freedom to explore, connect with other residents and have the time of their life, outside the rooms are circular walkways, spacious halls, and brightly lit, color-coded areas.

To ensure that you are taking your loved one to the right facility, take your time to visit the memory care community of your interest beforehand and look at their areas of residence.

Safety

People with memory problems can be exposed to plenty of risks, and memory care professionals know this. This is why they put as many measures in place to ensure that the residents are as safe as possible.

One of the ways they ensure the residents are safe is by installing cameras at strategic areas in the community to easily tell where everyone is.

The community is also secure and has a dedicated gate manned by security personnel, ensuring no resident leaves the premises without authorization.

The facilities also have activity cameras that get triggered when an activity, such as movement or fall, happens. The cameras come in handy at notifying the staff when a resident slips or falls.

Many communities keep their exterior doors secured 24 hours a day with keypad entries and have doorbells at the entrances and exits to keep a tab on who comes through the building.

Many of these facilities also feature enclosed courtyards that allow the residents to explore the outdoors while still in the community.

Dining

Someone can’t live without food, can they? This is the reason all memory care communities provide daily meals to all their residents.

To ensure that every resident is comfortable, most communities offer dining services that fit the specific needs of every resident in the facility.

For example, if someone has diabetes and can’t eat sugary foods, they are offered non-sugary foods. If there are vegetarians in the community, there are vegetarian meals for them.

The meals are served as per the resident’s preferences. If the resident loves eating in privacy, they are given the meals in their rooms. If they prefer eating in public, at every mealtime, they are invited to the dining hall.

As you are taking your community tour, hop into the kitchen and ask about the meals offered in the facility. If you have a personalized meal for your loved one, ask whether the facility can accommodate it and whether you will need to pay extra for it.

Care

The sole objective of the memory care communities is to ensure that the residents are comfortable and lead a wellness-oriented lifestyle. To do this, the communities provide a wide range of care and support services often personalized to the needs of the residents. These services include:

  • Assistance with daily activities including grooming, eating, and personal care
  • Medication management
  • Laundry services
  • Wellness programs
  • Housekeeping
  • 24 hours monitoring for health concerns
  • Room maintenance and repairs

Some communities offer additional care services, such as speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.

Amenities

Besides accommodation, the best memory care communities provide amenities to improve the resident’s comfort and enjoyment. These communities have a holistic approach to amenities and

provide plenty of options that touch on the four dimensions of wellness: spiritual, physical, intellectual, and social.

The common amenities you will find in most communities include:

  • Art center
  • Library
  • Music room
  • Game room
  • Planned leisure activities
  • Gardening plots
  • Fitness classes and programs
  • Beauty and barber services
  • Secure courtyard
  • Resources for family members
  • Library

Engaging activities

Memory care facilities aim to keep the residents engaged as much as possible. To do this, most of the communities provide activities meant to give the residents a full social calendar. Some of the activities they engage in include: brain games, art classes, dancing, and music programs.

The residents are also encouraged to spend time outdoors when they can simply walk or do gardening.

Will a memory care community cure your loved one?

Unfortunately, a memory care community won’t do this as there isn’t a cure for Alzheimer’s.

The best a memory care community can do is to provide your loved ones with care and support so that they can improve their current skills and lead a normal life.

Social relationships and health studies show that living in a community reduces the amount of medication that a resident needs, increases their overall health and wellness, and provides social interaction that comes in handy at reducing depression levels and isolation.

To ensure that your loved one receives the care they deserve, take your time to research and find the right facility.

As you research, you should know that some communities operate exclusively as memory care centers, while others have separate buildings and wings devoted to memory care. Each comes with its pros and cons, and it’s up to you to settle on the best one.

As a rule of thumb, ensure that the facility provides the above services to its residents. The facility should also be within your budget. Don’t enroll in a facility that is too expensive.

To have an idea of what your loved one will get, visit the memory care community once or twice before deciding to take your loved one there.

While in the facility, open your eyes and look out for the safety aspects of the facility. Also, talk to the residents and ask them about their experience there.

While at it, have a chat with the staff and make a note of their attitude. If they aren’t friendly, don’t consider that facility. After all, you wouldn’t want your loved ones to spend their time with rude and inconsiderate people around them, would you?

Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay