Your loved one’s dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis can come as a shock and bring stress onto your family. It is natural to feel concerned for your loved one’s safety and well-being. But not to worry—there are plenty of elder care options in New York City to support your loved one and give them care specially tailored to dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. This is known as memory care.
Memory Care Explained
Memory care is an elder care program specifically for seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s, at any stage in their illness. Most of these programs in New York City are housed in a separate floor in an assisted living community, or are in a facility of its own. Memory care programs provide essentially the same services that regular assisted living programs do, but with more around-the-clock supervision and extra safety precautions for residents with memory-related illness. They offer:
- Help with activities of daily living: bathing, toiliting, dressing, eating—depending on what your individual needs are
- Daily meals
- Recreational activities and amenities like fitness centers
- Housekeeping services
- Transportation services
- Staff members trained to support dementia and Alzheimer’s patients
- Safe and secure environments to prevent wandering
- Activities to help improve cognitive function
- Support to establish a routine to keep residents’s stress levels low
When’s the Right Time for Memory Care?
The decision to make the move to memory care is almost never easy. But if your loved one is struggling with memory-related illness, it is worth considering memory care since it offers a safe, supportive environment that they may not have access to at home.
Even if your loved one currently has a home health aide, it’s important to think about if they’re safe on their own when the aide is not there, or if the aide is trained to support dementia or Alzheimer’s patients. Think about their home itself as well—maybe there’s a risk of your loved one wandering outside of the home and getting hurt or lost. If you think they could benefit from a safer, more secure environment where they will never be left completely on their own, it might be the right time to start thinking about memory care.
The social aspect is important to think about as well. Social interaction is especially crucial for individuals with dementia or Alzheimer’s. Memory care offers the socialization and mental stimulation they might not have if they live at home alone
