The 5 Best Memory Care Facilities in Fort Oglethorpe, GA for 2024

 

Fort Oglethorpe sits next to the Chickamauga National Battlefield in the Chattanooga, TN, metropolitan area. For seniors and families seeking residential dementia services, the Fort Oglethorpe region has 8 memory care communities, 2 of which are within the city proper. Commonly, seniors in Fort Oglethorpe pay about $5,275 per month for this level of care, which trends higher than Georgia’s average of $4,419 but is several hundred dollars below the national norm of $5,625.

In our directory, we feature 49 reviews reviews of memory care communities in Fort Oglethorpe. Altogether, these facilities have an average rating of 4.66 out of 5 stars stars.

The Georgia Department of Community Health, Healthcare Facility Regulation Division officially licenses memory care communities as memory care units within assisted living facilities or personal care homes. It requires facilities to follow standard licensing requirements regarding the scope of care they must provide, admission criteria and nutrition and medication services, along with dementia-specific rules for staffing, staff training and security.

 

• CHI Memorial Hospital – Georgia sits in Fort Oglethorpe and serves the region as a not-for-profit, faith-based hospital with a range of inpatient and outpatient services. It has a 24-hour emergency room staffed with board-certified physicians who treat conditions such as injuries, chest pain and breathing difficulties, and the hospital provides imaging and surgical services, as well as referrals for dementia care.

 

• In Fort Oglethorpe, summer begins in late May and lasts through mid-September, averaging daily highs of 81 degrees Fahrenheit and humid conditions most of the time. Winters, which span late November to late February, are mild, with an average daytime temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit. To accommodate a variety of preferences, memory care communities offer indoor activities throughout the year, along with amenities such as fully enclosed courtyards with walking paths.

 

• Fort Oglethorpe has a total crime index of 8, meaning that its crime rate is lower than 8% of U.S. communities. Residents see about 32 property-related offenses and a little less than two violent crimes occur per 1,000 residents, which is high compared to similarly sized communities. Fortunately, memory care communities have security features, such as security gates and surveillance systems, to monitor on-site activity and reduce residents’ ability to wander off-site.

 

• Memory care residents in Fort Oglethorpe don’t pay state income taxes on their Social Security benefits, regardless of their annual income, and they can claim a deduction of up to $65,000 to reduce the tax burden on other retirement income. Additionally, the state eliminated its estate tax in 2014, supporting many seniors’ financial stability and ability to afford long-term care.   

 

• Catoosa County, where Fort Oglethorpe is located, ranks 15th out of Georgia’s 159 counties for general health, and it’s in the top percentile for health outcomes and factors. The region has a comparatively low rate of preventable hospitalizations, with the county reporting 2,863 incidents per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries versus 3,318 statewide, and the average life expectancy is several months higher than the Georgia norm at 77.8 years. This indicates high access to medical help, benefiting memory care residents.

Note: Residential memory care is usually offered in assisted living facilities, and in general, memory care rates tend to be 20-30% higher than assisted living rates. No national database currently tracks memory care costs in the United States, so we've estimated the monthly memory care costs listed below by adding 25% to the rates listed in Genworth's 2021 Cost of Care Survey.

In Fort Oglethorpe, memory care facilities charge a standard monthly rate of $5,275.

In Fort Oglethorpe, memory care residents pay about $5,275 for dementia support. Although this is hundreds of dollars higher than Georgia’s average of $4,419, it offers monthly savings over the U.S. norm of $5,625. While local care costs compete favorably with monthly fees in Rome, where facilities charge $5,366, other local cities have more economically priced care. For example, in Gainesville, monthly fees are lower at $4,866, and in Dalton, seniors pay $4,250 for specialized services.

Memory care rates in Fort Oglethorpe are roughly $5,275, which exceeds monthly costs for most other senior care solutions. Seniors who obtain private services in their homes pay $4,767 for in-home care, an option that includes personal care, companionship and help with household chores. Home health care, which is similar to in-home care but also includes skilled nursing, comes in at $4,744 per month. Additionally, seniors who don’t need memory services but benefit from personalized care pay $4,220 for assisted living, and adult day health care facilities provide nonresidential personal care and skilled nursing for $1,733. Only nursing home care, which includes intensive skilled nursing services for $7,325 monthly, is costlier than memory care.

While many families use their own funds or personal assets to pay for memory care, there are plenty of additional options to cover these costs. Some additional ways to finance memory care costs include:

 

• Veterans Benefits
• Life Insurance Policy
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Reverse Mortgage

 

For more information about different ways to finance memory care, visit our Memory Care in Georgia page.