The 5 Best Memory Care Facilities in Lafayette, LA for 2023

Situated in the heart of Louisiana's Cajun country, Lafayette is a small city of about 127,000 people. Seniors over the age of 65 make up about 12.4 percent of the population in Lafayette, and the city has three memory care facilities to accommodate older residents with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.

Memory care facilities in Lafayette are licensed and regulated through the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and are referred to as Alzheimer's Special Care Units (ASCUs). Any licensed adult residential care provider that promotes having specialized Alzheimer's or dementia care services, or any facility with a special program or a specifically designated unit of the facility for these patients, must be licensed as an ASCU. Staff at an ACSU must have specialized training and must provide a secure outdoor area for residents to allow access to the outside while preventing wandering.

• Mild winters and hot, humid summers are typical in Lafayette. The subtropical climate can cause heat extremes in the summer, so families seeking out a memory care facility may want to ask what precautions the staff takes to protect residents from heat exhaustion and heat stroke during the hottest months of the year.
• The Lafayette area is home to world-class medical facilities, including those specializing in brain health and dementia care such as Lafayette General Medical Center in the event of medical emergencies or illness.
• Air quality in Lafayette tends to be good. According to the American Lung Association, Lafayette tied for first place in a ranking of the cleanest metropolitan areas regarding ozone and 24-hour particle pollution. The city also has low levels of annual particle pollution, so seniors with respiratory conditions can breathe easy.
• The cost of living in Lafayette is 3.3 percent lower than the national average, and local health care costs follow this lower-cost trend. Transportation costs tend to be higher than the national average, though, which may affect families visiting a relative in a memory care facility.

Financial Assistance for Memory Care in Lafayette

Learn more about these programs, plus who’s eligible, on our Memory Care in Louisiana page.

More Ways to Pay for 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 Louisiana page.

Lafayette and the surrounding area are home to numerous government agencies and non-profit organizations offering help for seniors searching for or currently residing in a memory care community. These organizations can also provide assistance in a number of other eldercare services such as geriatric care management, elder law advice, estate planning, finding home care and health and wellness programs.

To see a list of free memory care resources in Lafayette, please visit our Memory Care in Louisiana page.

Lafayette-area memory care communities must adhere to the comprehensive set of state laws and regulations that all memory care communities in Louisiana are required to follow. Visit our Memory Care in Louisiana page for more information about these laws.