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Memory Care
Memory Care Facility

Memory Care vs Nursing Home: What’s The Difference?

John Trevey on Jul 26, 2021
The Breckinridge Memory Care Lexington

At the early stages of caring for a loved one with dementia, you might be able to do it all yourself. However, as their condition becomes more challenging, you will require some level of professional help. At this point, most people start to consider living options like a memory care facility or a nursing home. 

To make the right decision, you need to understand how memory care residences and nursing homes work and the types of care they provide for family members with health conditions. One of the first things you should keep in the back of your mind is that memory care is quite different from regular assisted living communities. Certified Memory care residences provide certified dementia care services for older adults living with the condition. The Breckinridge is an assisted living facility with a certification in Alzheimer’s and Memory Care.

As you begin your search for the best senior care, here’s all you need to know about memory care vs nursing homes.

What is a Nursing Home?

After hospitals, nursing homes come in second place for caring for older adults with dementia. Apart from providing custodial care like helping patients get in and out of bed, a nursing home also provides a high level of medical care for patients. In addition, they cater to skilled nursing care for patients and people recovering from accidents, such as a broken bone after a fall. 

Typically, a nursing facility will have a licensed physician who supervises each patient’s well-being. They also have registered nurses on staff 24/7 and other medical professionals like a physical therapist. 

When you decide to move a loved one with dementia into a nursing home, you’re sure they will enjoy good medical care and receive the support they might not have in other senior housing facilities.

What is Memory Care?

Like a nursing home, memory care provides full-time custodial care for patients. But, the critical difference is that memory care specializes in caring only for people with memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease. 

A memory care facility helps minimize the impact of dementia while enhancing the quality of life of people living with this disease. For example, at The Breckinridge, we train our staff on the best practices for caring for dementia residents and complex dementia behaviors. 

Because of their specialization, memory care communities are designed and equipped differently. They have extra safety features like alarms, locked exit doors, and enclosed courtyards to prevent wandering. Their layouts should be simple, with color-coded walls and well-defined spaces to reduce confusion. The Breckinridge facility is designed in a circular pattern that allows residents to move in and out without getting hurt or losing their way.

Memory Care vs Nursing Home Costs and Expenses

The Breckinridge Memory Care Lexington residents

Before choosing a nursing home over memory care, and vice versa, you need to know what to expect regarding costs and expenses.  

In general, several factors determine the pricing for both types of senior living communities, including their services, location, and structure. For example, a nursing home in an urban area might cost significantly more than one in a rural area.

Estimated Memory Care Costs

The monthly median cost of memory care is $5,250. But as we mentioned earlier, this varies based on the location. A budget of $4,000 to $8,000 a month is most suitable in this situation. 

If you have long-term care insurance, a reverse pay mortgage, or some other type of private pay, it becomes easier to pay for your loved one in a memory care facility as soon as they require this type of care.

Estimated Nursing Home Costs

The prices of nursing homes vary based on whether they are private-owned or owned by the government. Governments typically subsidize the costs of their nursing homes, making them cheaper than the private alternative. However, the vast majority of nursing homes are privately owned.

The median monthly cost of a state-owned nursing home is $7,513, while the median monthly price of a private-owned nursing home is $8,517.

Memory Care
Nursing Home

Cost

The average cost of memory care is $5,250 per month. However, depending on your location, you can pay between $4,000 to $8,000 each month.

The monthly median cost of a state-owned nursing home is $7,513, while that of a private-owned nursing home is $8,517.

Activities

The activities in a memory care facility are directed towards helping the patients improve their quality of life. 

For example, at The Breckinridge, we encourage socialization and exercises to help the residents maintain their routine.

Nursing homes have fewer activities, mainly because of the health of the patients. 

Socialization is encouraged amongst healthier patients. Also, games, movie nights, and mini-musical events happen once in a while.

Staff Training

The staff in a memory-care facility undergo training to know how to care for simple to complex challenges faced by people living with memory loss.

Nursing homes have different medical practitioners, including registered nurses and physiotherapists. Focused training on memory loss is not typical.

Who is it for?

Memory Care facilities provide care for people with dementia and Alzheimers, typically at the middle and later stages of the disease.

Nursing homes are for older adults who require full-time nursing care due to their acute/chronic medical issues.

Level of Care

Care is provided for people in every stage of dementia or Alzheimer’s, including assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), getting out of bed, getting dressed, medication management, and effective therapies with music and cognitive stimulation.

Nursing homes provide high-level (skilled) assisted care that they cannot get at home from nurses and licensed therapists. This includes custodial care like helping with ADLs like eating, dressing up, and getting out of bed.

Freedom of Movement

Dementia residents can freely move around the facility, with staff oversight as needed. Loved ones can visit as they please.

All main doors and exits are securely locked to prevent residents from wandering away from the community.

Dementia patients cannot move around the facility without staff’s guidance. The doors and exits are kept shut to keep patients from wandering away.

Average number of residents

A memory care community usually has fewer than 50 residents. At The Breckinridge, we limit our homes to just 20 residents at a time.

Typically, memory care communities have from 11–25 people, which allows the trained staff to give residents the best attention and care.

A nursing home houses more people than a memory care community. The average number of residents in a nursing home is 50–200 people or more.

Which is Right for My Loved One?

The Breckinridge Memory Care Lexington - Gardening

This is the big question. Ultimately, the choice between a nursing home or memory care comes down to several factors. The most important one here is the nature of your loved one’s illness. 

For people with dementia, a memory care facility like The Breckinridge is the better option because it provides specialized care, including memory-enhancing activities that improve the quality of your loved one’s life. 

When Should I Choose A Nursing Home?

Nursing homes services have the advantage of providing extensive medical support for the elderly in their care. So, you should choose a nursing home if your loved one has a debilitating medical issue. 

Another thing to consider here is the length of time that your loved one would need professional support. The good thing here is nursing homes offer both long and short-term care solutions.

When Should I Choose Memory Care?

The first and most obvious criterion is dementia or Alzheimer’s or a related senior dementia. If your loved one is living with dementia, a memory care facility is where they’ll get all the support they need to help them manage the illness better.

Summary: Memory Care vs Nursing Home

Understanding how memory care is different from how nursing homes work is the first step in choosing the best care for your loved ones. For residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s, memory care communities offer all the support they need as they navigate this phase of their lives. 

At The Breckinridge in Lexington Kentucky, we provide specialized, thoughtful, and consistent dementia care in a home-like setting for your loved ones with dementia or Alzheimer’s. Our community is simple, friendly, and welcoming to help residents live the best quality of life. 


Contact us today to learn more about our community and vision.

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Covid Information

Continuing an Environment of Caring in Times of COVID-19


Safety of Residents and Staff

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to evolve, our communities are focused on keeping our Residents and staff safe while also maintaining Resident engagement and daily fulfillment. We are taking a cautious approach, balancing the highest level of safety within the least restrictive environment.

We will continue to follow and augment State and C.D.C. safety recommendations:

Screening: We screen every employee every day. We require our staff to complete a questionnaire (inquiring about possible symptoms, recent travel and exposure), have their temperature and oxygen level checked before entering the building. Staff are also required to clean their cell phones, keys and wash their hands while being observed. We monitor our Residents’ health closely with temperature and oxygen level checks at least twice a day. We help our Residents wash their hands throughout the day and encourage them to wear a mask or face covering.

Cleaning: We have enhanced our cleaning products with regard for their effectiveness in killing COVID-19 particles and proper sanitization and disinfection, using the EPA’s specific list of disinfectants for use against the coronavirus. We are using this list and training staff on how long cleaning solutions must be kept on a surface before wiping it off to ensure its effectiveness. We prioritize cleaning high-touch areas and horizontal surfaces, cleaning them several times a day.

Physical Distancing: We encourage 6 foot distancing between Residents and with staff unless they are providing direct care to a Resident.

Testing: We test all Residents and staff for COVID-19 every three weeks, and more as needed. Our nurses utilize a PCR test, which we send to a private lab to expedite results.

Physical Changes: We have installed ultraviolet lights in our air conditioners that supply air to the common areas of the houses. This method is believed to be helpful in killing bacteria that is cycled through the systems and pushed back into the house. We’ve also enhanced our HVAC filters to near HEPA levels, trying to add additional layers of protection to keep COVID-19 out of the building. Most importantly, air purifiers have been added to common areas and each resident room.

PPE: Staff members wear masks at all times and we encourage Residents to wear masks when outside their rooms. We also encourage physical distancing between our Residents. Staff wears additional protective equipment when deemed necessary while caring for our Residents. Staff are continually trained on when and how to use personal protective equipment (PPE).

Individual Needs Stay Paramount

The uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 affects us all. At our communities, we are not letting it stop us from safely offering a life well-lived. Above all, we are providing the utmost attention to the safety and well-being of our Residents. Our Program has always revolved around the individualized needs of each Resident and this has not changed during COVID-19. Residents are still able to connect with each other and staff while maintaining a safe physical distance. Weather permitting, we enjoy the patio and large backyard. We continue to keep our Residents engaged through cognitive, physical, recreational experiences. We offer enjoyment and connection throughout the day even during these unprecedented times.

Visitors

Since early March we have restricted facility access to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Essential Visitors: Healthcare providers including physicians, home health, private duty services, physical therapy and hospice staff have not been allowed in the communities unless there is an acute, essential need for our Residents. These services continue as needed through FaceTime, tele-med and phone conversations. If physical access is absolutely necessary, the individual will complete our questionnaire and screening for temperature and oxygen stats. No one is allowed in the community if they fail to meet our screening criteria.

Families: We are happy to help schedule window visits, FaceTime, Zoom and phone calls with your loved ones based on what is allowed and prudent. To ensure the proper support from our staff, our visits are scheduled ahead of time.

Tours and Move-Ins

Tours: We recognize that regardless of the changes with COVID-19, your need for senior living hasn’t changed. For the safety of you, our Residents and staff, we are currently offering virtual tours where you can see our community, as well as meet our staff. Please contact our Community Relations Director to set up a virtual tour.

Move-Ins: We are accepting a limited number of move-ins (unless otherwise instructed by public health department). New Residents must be tested for COVID-19 prior to move-in. Upon admission, we will place a new resident in their room to quarantine as an additional precaution.

We will share community-specific information with residents and families as our quarantine measures continue to evolve with new information of COVID-19.

We are honored to care for your family member and loved one.

 

Comments we’ve received from our families during COVID-19.

“We appreciate all of your efforts. Your team clearly is a leader in the response to COVID. Thank you for keeping our loved ones safe.”

Joseph

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for ALL you have done and are doing to keep the residents and staff in a safe environment! The continuous learning and improvements empower caregivers and families to do better at home and in our communities.”

Tommy

“I appreciate you taking the time to update us and share them with my family living in AL, GA, VA, MD, FL…we are extremely grateful and comforted by your proactive and decisive measures! We’ll continue to keep you in prayer for health, safety and more.”

Rebecca

“In keeping with the parade theme you had, the employees there are super heroes. They are plowing forward in the midst of this horrible virus and taking care of their patients selflessly. I just wanted to acknowledge their bravery and dedication and thank them from the bottom of my heart for the goodness in their hearts and their dedication to their patients and jobs.”

Abigail

“Thank you! You locked down early & your diligence has paid well.

The Bader support group continues meeting once a month by Zoom. We all appreciate you so much. Everyone comments on how grateful we are that our parents are at The Breckinridge!

We appreciate everything: sending us pictures, calls, alerts to bring supplies/clothes as needed, staying in virtual contact with hospice.
Blessings to each of you.”

Marsha

“Thank you for all y’all and all the staff are doing for my mom and the other residents. We truly appreciate your hard work.”

Carol

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