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How Memory Care Enriches the Lives of its Residents

 

Families whose loved ones are living with Alzheimer’s disease may discover that as the disease progresses, the level of care needed may exceed what can be provided at home.

They may also be unfamiliar with the services a memory care community provides and how they can contribute to the enrichment of life.  

The following may help you better understand the benefits that senior living communities provide to support their memory care residents to achieve their highest quality of life.

Enriching the lives of memory care residents

Individuals living with dementia can still appreciate a meaningful and engaged life. Memory care is designed to not only provide specialized care but to help their residents experience their best lives.

Take a look at the features that support memory care residents to benefit from community care:

1. Reassuring community design

For those living with Alzheimer’s disease, where they call home can have a great impact on their quality of life.

Communities are designed to encourage their memory care residents to feel comfortable and at home. Planned to minimize frustration, anxiety and confusion, your loved one will be supported to move freely with color-coded hallways and personalized areas.

2. Specially trained staff

Those who work in memory care are not only compassionate but well trained to specifically care for those who are living with Alzheimer’s disease.

They are experienced in interacting effectively with residents, respond to different behaviors, de-escalate feelings of confusion, frustration and anxiety, assist the residents with activities and mealtimes and recognize needs if the individual is unable to communicate verbally.

3. Lower staff-to-resident ratio

Memory care residents receive more individualized care due to a lower staff-to-resident ratio, allowing the team to spend more time in getting to know the preferences and abilities of those they care for as well as the type of response that works most effectively.

Those living with Alzheimer’s appreciate interacting with familiar faces and the reassurance that comes from developed relationships. The staff can also notice any changes in behavior or health sooner and take the appropriate action.

4. Activities and specialized therapies tailored to the individual

Individuals respond to Alzheimer’s differently and their capabilities to transition will continue to change throughout the disease. Remaining active is important to both physical and emotional health, made easier by tailoring the interaction to the preferences and ability of the individual.

It’s an enriching experience for memory care residents to interact with others or take part in therapies that can include music, pet, occupation, art, aromatherapy or reminiscing.

5. Healthy dining programs

Eating healthy is essential for everyone but for memory care residents there is often an added challenge of the dining process itself. There may be confusion over which utensils to use, differentiating between the table and dishes or needing assistance to eat.

Another advantage of a memory care community is their ability to specially prepare and present food to encourage independence, use special dinnerware and utensils, as well as provide a comfortable dining area to minimize frustration at mealtime.

6. Safe and secure communities

Safety issues become a higher priority for families who are caring for those living with Alzheimer’s. For example, some individuals may have the tendency to wander and become unable to find their way back home or remember who to call for help.

Communities are designed to keep their memory care residents safe while encouraging them to move freely and experience fewer restrictions. Safety features may include secured entries to ensure no one can leave an area unnoticed. Enclosed courtyards allow the residents to enjoy the outdoors freely but safely.

7. Support for the family

Those who love and attend to family members living with dementia also need support. While memory care residents receive special attention, their families are also in need of care.

Knowing their loved one is well cared for allows the family to return to their former roles and not only as primary caregivers. Meaningful time can be shared together once again. These interactions can greatly enhance the quality of life for the individuals and their families.

Life at a Milestone Community

If you’re looking at options for retirement living, we invite your family to visit one of our Milestone communities – designed to support your loved ones to live their highest quality of life.

We offer studio and one-bedroom private apartments for our assisted living residents as well as private or shared memory care suites for those living with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Our memory care residents are cared for by our compassionate and specially trained team – who meet them wherever they are in their journey with patience and kindness. The residents also have access to customized activities, programs and an elevated secured courtyard.

Our amenities and services encourage our residents in assisted living to engage with others, remain as independent as possible and be reassured that help is available whenever needed.

In addition to our personalized services, we offer:

If your family is considering retirement living, we hope you will visit one of our communities. We are a trusted resource and are here to answer any questions. Please contact us with any questions you may have or to arrange a personal tour.