10 Things You Need To Know About Memory Care Facilities

Lexington Memory care facilities are created to provide an exceptional level of care for older adults with memory disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. They are very different from nursing home care, assisted living communities for the elderly, and other senior living residences.

Memory care facilities assist residents in handling activities of daily living (ADLs). They offer personal care, medical care, and helpful activities like music therapy and physical exercises that improve the person’s cognitive abilities as they deal with the challenges of memory loss.

Since dementia and other memory diseases have no cure, memory care aims to help people with these conditions live the best life they can. Many intentional practices go into achieving this, such as limiting medication and prioritizing safety.

Thanks to specialized care, memory care residents may take less medication, limiting side effects that distort their natural metabolism. Even better, memory care facilities are functionally designed to help reduce the possibility of injuries or accidents to your loved ones.

Alzheimer’s special care facilities offer different social activities to improve interaction among people with Alzheimer’s disease.

For example, your loved one could spend time gardening, dancing, singing and playing games —these activities help relieve bouts of anxiety, depression, and loneliness associated with different forms of dementia.

In a memory care community, people with dementia and Alzheimer’s are surrounded by specialized caretakers committed to improving their well-being throughout their stay.

Because of the nature of this disease, a person with dementia or Alzheimer’s needs special assistance with everyday activities. Memory care staff members are familiar with the best care practices for people living with memory conditions, including the latest developments in Alzheimer’s treatments, dementia treatments, and geriatric care in general.

Equipped with this knowledge, they can help them navigate dementia challenges and deal with this new phase in their lives.

For example, The Breckinridge caregivers undergo specialized training to help them cater to the specific needs of older adults with dementia.

To ensure your loved one gets the care and compassion they deserve, memory care facilities have fewer residents per staff, increasing the caregiver/resident ratio. The standard practice is to have the ratio of caregivers to residents at five or fewer residents to one caregiver.

At The Breckinridge, we limit our home to 24 residents at a time. This way, our caregivers can pay the highest level of attention to your parents, and meet their unique care needs, as they deal with the challenges of dementia.

As dementia worsens, your loved one will find it increasingly difficult to move around at home without wandering off or getting hurt. At this point, your home becomes an unsafe environment for them, and moving them into a memory care community is the better and safer option.

Memory care is specially designed for the comfort and safety of your elderly parents living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Contrary to what many people believe, social activities are a great way to enrich the life of a person with dementia. Research shows that indoor and outdoor socialization can help to improve the quality of life of people living with memory conditions and reduce their feeling of loneliness.

At The Breckinridge, our residents participate in indoor activities like listening to music, arts and crafts, and games. They also engage in outdoor activities, including taking a walk outside and sitting in the garden for conversations.

All of these activities lower feelings of depression and help them navigate behavioral changes.

Because they provide specialized care for people with dementia, memory care facilities must meet strict requirements of state regulatory bodies in their communities before obtaining a license.

In addition, they have frequent regulatory oversight to ensure high-quality dementia and Alzheimer’s care for residents.

Memory care facilities require their staff to keep up with the latest advances in Alzheimer’s and dementia care. This is because they need to have a good understanding of the disease process and how to enhance the person’s quality of life.

Memory Care facilities need to be safe and secure. Because your loved one with dementia can wander off and get hurt, memory care facilities observe necessary safety and security precautions, such as alarm systems, fully enclosed outdoor areas with walking paths, as well as a functionally designed indoor space.

Despite these safety features, a memory care facility doesn’t feel like a prison. The whole idea is to keep residents safe without making them feel trapped or restricted. At The Breckinridge, our memory care residents have the space to be active under the supervision of our caregivers and within the boundaries of the facility. They can spend time relaxing or engaging in some other activity in our enclosed outdoor garden because it feels like a comfortable home.

Caring for people with dementia takes a team, so memory care facilities adopt a collaborative effort. They often offer activities that encourage the residents’ families to visit the facilities and spend time together.

For example, a memory care community can host a family dinner, parent-child arts and crafts event, or invite you to participate in your loved one’s music therapy.

The idea here is to build deeper connections between the resident and their family members, even though they are away from them. For example, moving your parents to memory care shouldn’t affect your family bond; you can still see and connect with them in a memory care facility on a routine basis while knowing they are safe.