Is Memory Care the Same as Alzheimer's?

Memory care is a specialty in long-term care for those with impairments in memory, including Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Many people refer to the care as "Alzheimer's care," although the terms allude to, but are not precisely, the same thing. To help explain that better, let's go into the differences and what each term brings with it in an attempt to support individuals dealing with cognitive decline.

What is Memory Care?

Memory care is a specialized service within assisted living. It features an organized environment with routines designed to help residents diagnosed with various types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Memory care units are explicitly designed for use as a home by residents whose memory impairments are severe enough and whose needs require a higher level of care than would typically be found within an assisted living home.

Key features of memory care assisted living include:

• Secure environments to prevent wandering
• Staff trained in dementia care
• Specialized activities that stimulate cognitive function
• Assistance with ADLs, such as bathing, dressing, and eating
• Medical oversight and medication management

With these infrastructures, the memory care units have been built to meet the emotional, physical, and psychological needs of residents suffering from memory impairments. Specialized care in this form exceeds services and assistance usually provided to such persons through classic assisted living facilities, as the attention and support are provided in ways that are necessary for sustaining the highest possible level of quality life.

Alzheimer's Disease: A Type of Dementia

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, which is a general term describing disorders resulting from a significant loss of cognitive function. It focuses mostly on the decline of memory, but later on, it also affects thinking, reasoning, and behavior. Thus, the illness of Alzheimer's is progressive in its nature; hence, the symptoms worsen as the disease progresses.

As Alzheimer's patients are so prevalent, many memory care facilities design their facility around this disease, but memory care is not specifically for Alzheimer's residents. Many might have another form of dementia, for instance Lewy body dementia or vascular dementia. These different forms of dementia often show slightly varied symptoms, but the concept behind memory care is the same.

Stages of Alzheimer's Disease

• Early Stage: Forgetting and mild lapses in memory are common. Individuals remain independent but may require some reminders on occasion.

• Middle Stage: The person starts to show noticeable memory loss that impacts their daily life. People in the middle stage of AD commonly require assistance with the ADLs.

• Late Stage: Individuals with late-stage AD lose the ability to speak, communicate, or carry on with activities. Full-time care is required for them.

The takeaway is that memory care facilities address the needs that exist throughout every stage of this disease in a unique way, providing a personalized care plan for each resident.

How Does Memory Care Differ from Traditional Assisted Living?

One of the most critical ways in which memory care is different from traditional assisted living is in the higher levels of supervision and specialized care. Assisted living usually treats older adults in need of help with daily activities but cannot always manage the more complicated needs of people with advanced memory loss.

Increased Safety and Security

Memory care communities often have added safety features. For example, many employ secure entrance and exit points to prevent wandering, a significant risk for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Many memory care communities have outdoor areas that are secured, as well, in which residents can enjoy the outdoors with little risk of becoming lost.

Specialized Care and Training

On the other hand, staff at the memory care facility is particularly trained in dementia care-a domain which often isn't just learning to communicate with residents with significant impairment but a lot related to behavioral management, including aggression, confusion, and anxiety. By contrast, many staff members at traditional assisted living communities can be a great deal less skillful and knowledgeable in responding to these challenges associated with dementia.

Structured Routines and Activities

Structured routines and special activities are the focus of memory care communities that can help stimulate cognitive function. Most daily schedules are very consistent and predictable in nature, which helps minimize confusion and anxiety for residents who may be afflicted with failing memory. The most common activities at these settings of memory care include musical therapy, pet therapy, and reminiscence therapy, which provide good results in enhancing general well-being for patients suffering from dementia.

While these communities perhaps have more flexible schedules and may provide a broader range of activities, they are not designed to provide the level of cognitive and behavioral support characteristic of Alzheimer's and other dementias.

Choosing the Right Type of Care: When is Memory Care Necessary?

Knowing just when a loved one no longer requires traditional assisted living but needs memory care is a call many families must make as they work through the stages of dementia. Some of the signs that this may indeed be the time to move into memory care include:

• Wandering or getting lost in familiar environments
• Increased confusion or disorientation
• Difficulty with basic tasks like eating or dressing
• Behavioral changes such as agitation, aggression, or depression
• Needing constant supervision for safety reasons
• Overlooking the intake of medications and the follow-up of health conditions

If the aforementioned signs have become more prominent, then memory care would be more appropriate than assisted living. The structure and specialized assistance found in the memory care units are adapted to these specific challenges that have developed in the process of progressive memory loss.

Memory Care Benefits for Sufferers of Alzheimer's

The Memory Care Center provides a number of benefits to an Alzheimer's sufferer, some of which are:

24/7 monitoring by the trained staff in dementia

Personalized care plans that evolve with the disease's progression become very important. Therapeutic activities that are of help in maintaining cognitive abilities Safety features, such as those that help prevent wandering and falls A community of peers with similar challenges that isolation cannot easily access By providing a tailored approach to care, memory care facilities can support efforts toward an improved quality of life for Alzheimer's patients and peace of mind for the families in knowing their loved one is receiving the best possible care.

Cost of Memory Care vs. Assisted Living

Care in memory care is typically more costly than the general assisted living setting due to the increase in service and specialized nature of the services. The estimated cost of memory care, on average, varies by location from $4,000 to $8,000 per month depending on the facility. These costs include the added staffing, security measures, and therapeutic activities that are essential in enriching the lives of the residents with dementia.

Although these costs may seem relatively high, for many families, benefits associated with memory care, such as individual attention and a secure environment, are well worth the investment insofar as it comes to safety and quality of life for loved ones.

Conclusion

In closing, although related, memory care and Alzheimer's care are not precisely the same thing. Memory care is specialized support that offers both care and assistance for residents diagnosed with various forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease. It is a higher level of care compared to the normal assisted living of residents with advanced memory loss. It is really a hard decision on the part of the families to decide on putting their loved one into a care facility, but it should be taken into consideration according to the needs of the person and if the memory care is the best option available.