Rancho Santa Margarita is a town of almost 50,000 people, including more than 3,400 seniors over the age of 65. As this population ages, their risk of developing dementia increases. In the state of California alone, an estimated 650,000 seniors 65 and older were living with Alzheimer's disease in 2018, a number that is projected to rise as much as 30 percent by 2025.
Increasingly, memory care facilities in Rancho Santa Margarita and throughout California are stepping up to help families provide for the changing needs of loved ones with dementia. California licenses facilities caring for persons with dementia as Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs). In all, there are more than 180 RCFE's in or nearby Rancho Santa Margarita that offer memory care services.