Where Is The Best Place For Alzheimer’s Patients?

The best place for Alzheimer’s patients depends on the severity of the condition. Most seniors with Alzheimer’s prefer to remain in their homes, which is often the best place for them if they have daily contact with their family members and caregivers. If Alzheimer’s worsens and supporting the senior becomes more challenging, such as them wandering or becoming more aggressive, moving them to a care facility should be seriously considered.

Seniors with early-stage Alzheimer’s living at home are known to lead happier, healthier and longer lives. They’re surrounded by familiar objects, know their home’s layout well and often have more contact with loved ones than they would if they lived in a care facility. Seniors with mid to late-stage Alzheimer’s may be better cared for within a memory care facility dedicated to supporting adults with cognitive conditions. This is particularly true if the family and caregivers can no longer provide the increased level of support required. Memory care typically involves 24/7 help with activities of daily living, such as getting in and out of bed, toileting, bathing, eating and dressing.

Home care for seniors with Alzheimer’s basically falls into two categories — nonmedical and medical. Nonmedical care typically involves regular visits from the caregiver to provide companionship, do light housekeeping, prepare meals and help with activities of daily living. It can also include the caregiver shopping for groceries and driving the senior to medical appointments.

Medical care in the home is typically referred to as home health care. This can include home care services but is particularly focused on medical aspects of care. Qualified professionals regularly visit the senior’s home to provide basic medical care, such as injections and physical therapy. They can also treat minor wounds.

Memory care is a specialized form of care delivered within an assisted living facility, although some facilities focus exclusively on residents with cognitive decline. Staff is trained to support residents with mid- to late-stage Alzheimer’s and other memory loss conditions. The facilities are typically designed to minimize the risk of triggering seniors easily made anxious by changes in their environment, so it’s common to find easily navigable corridors and lots of calming colors throughout.

Memory care facilities deliver programs designed to slow the advance of Alzheimer’s. These include encouraging the resident to reminisce, particularly about family, and to participate in gentle tasks that focus the mind, such as arts and crafts. The senior’s physician may also prescribe a cholinesterase inhibitor, such as galantamine, to inhibit the advance of Alzheimer’s if the individual is within the early-to-moderate stages. Memory care units aren’t like hospitals. They’re homelike environments where residents often live in rooms decorated with their own furniture and where they can form friendships with other residents. All meals are provided, and staff members ensure residents are regularly hydrated and have plenty of opportunities to exercise and socialize.