The Best Memory Care Communities in Carroll County, MD

"My brother is at Woodholme Gardens. The staff were very friendly, very helpful, and delightful when I went in to take a walk-through. They're taking very good care of my brother and he is happy there. There are different levels of care. It's a very nice place. It's reasonable. They do run specials, so you just have to work with the director because there are specials that she can sometimes give to the families. My brother has a room, and he has his meals with everyone else. They come in and clean the room once a week, they do his laundry, and they help him with showers. So far, I'm very happy with the facility. He has only been there 10 days, but I haven't had any issues. When he has asked for something as far as maintenance or help with something, everyone has been right there to help him. The staff have been amazing. My brother said the food is very good. It smells good. I have seen nothing dirty. No dirty clothes lying around. Everything is always wiped down clean. With regards to activities, I've witnessed karaoke, and women and men getting pedicures. They have a barber shop there. My brother played bingo. They sit in their little chairs and do their little weights and stuff like that. And I saw arts and crafts going on one day. Everybody seems to interact. Even when they do the karaoke, the nurses and all the caregivers are all in the room sometimes with them singing and joking. It's got a very good atmosphere there. "

"We went and looked at Sunrise of Pikesville. The facility was nice, clean, and bright. It looked like the residents were enjoying themselves when we visited. The staff was very attentive. If someone had a call for assistance, they responded quickly, which was important to us. They had a nice menu. They had lots of choices for residents. The activities were also very nice. The rooms were nice. There were a lot of different options for size and different price points, which we liked. We especially liked the semi-private room option, which was more affordable for our family member. Every staff member we ran into was very friendly. They seemed to be interacting with residents in a way that they knew the residents well. Everybody was polite and friendly."

"This facility is a very caring facility. Soma, who is the nurse, cook, etc who takes care of my Dad, does an excellent job and Tim, the owner/director and Charilyn makes sure all residents stay healthy which I have been so thankful for."

"As a resident here for the last 4 months ,I have experienced nothing but kindness from the staff and residence here. I receive a written schedule every morning during breakfast with the daily activities that are planned for the day (which include but aren't limited to bingo arts and crafts and even movies that we all watch together). The meal menu is provided and prepared by an actual chef that keeps the meals flavorful and entertaining (there also substitutions made for dietary needs or if you just don't like what's on the menu that night). The nursing staff are knowledgeable and well-versed on conditions that I may need or require due to my medical needs and circumstances. The management staff are very quick to respond to any issues that may arise throughout the day and answer any questions that may come up."

"From the moment we walked through the doors, we knew we had found something special. The memory care at Lighthouse has exceeded our expectations in every possible way. The environment is warm, inviting, and doesn’t feel clinical—it feels like home. The staff is the true heart of this place. They are not only highly trained and professional, but incredibly compassionate, patient, and attentive. You can tell they genuinely care about each resident, treating them with dignity and respect. They’ve taken the time to really get to know our mom, which has made a huge difference in her transition from the home she lived in for over 40 years. We’ve noticed a real improvement in mood and social interaction since moving in. She really loves the creative, engaging activities and especially the outings. There always seems to be something going on. We also love the frequent family updates and open communication. We never feel out of the loop and always feel welcome to visit and participate. The entire team—from the caregivers and nurses to the dining and housekeeping staff—works together seamlessly. Choosing a new permanent home for a parent is one of the hardest decisions a family can face, but we are so grateful we found Lighthouse. It has brought us peace of mind and, most importantly, brought joy and stability back into our mom’s life. We highly recommend it to anyone navigating this journey."

"My brother is in a unique situation. He had a debilitating stroke when he was younger, now at only 55, his health was in decline and he needed assisted living. The staff at Viva are so vibrant and joyful. They've treated my brother with so much respect and encouragement. They want him to get better in hopes that he may regain some independence - and it's working! They won't let him quit. This level of care goes beyond what is simply required. These are incredible humans who want the best for the people in their care. Dana the Medical Technician, Patrice and Daija the Resident Care Aides are the best."

"I toured Dulaney Valley Assisted Living at Hunt Valley and liked that it was a house. I liked the nursing staff-to-patient ratio. I also liked how the rooms were clean and set up and how they addressed the fact that every patient was different because of their mental status. They were quite a little different, and it's not all cookie-cutter same thing for everyone. The head nurse there was very knowledgeable and informative. The place was very nice. I was in the bathroom, and in some locations, the pungent odor of urine was very predominant. You could not have that with this location."

"I like Humble Hearts Assisted Living. It's on a nice quiet street. The gentleman who showed me around was very pleasant. He showed me all of the rooms and their security system. The necessary paperwork that they had to have was displayed. I like the place. It was nice and clean. The only thing I didn't like about it was that all they had there were men. They said they had had a woman before, but it seemed to me that it's more a man's place than someplace you would put a woman because all of the residents are male. The staff who gave the tour was a very nice gentleman and he was very on point. I felt like it was a nice place."

"Arden Courts of Towson is 100% managed memory care, so it felt like the whole facility was designed with that in mind, which was a different feel from all the other places that have mixed levels of care. Their apartments are more like bedrooms because they want to encourage the managed memory care folks to be in social spaces as much as possible. The physical design of the place is in a circle or a ring with four wings. It's predominantly living spaces, but the ring is where a lot of the social space is, so it's designed to bring people out of their rooms into the ring, where they can walk. Both spaces were very secure and very well-maintained. The staff was sort of on top, but they all had the ability to go outside. One of the interesting things about it was that the boundary for the managed memory care was around the entire facility, so even if they went outside, they were still inside the secure boundary in which the residents could be safe. Another thing that I found interesting during the tour was that they attempt to be entirely staffed with full-time employees. They do not utilize contract staff as a regular part of how they manage their staffing, so it felt like the people who were there had a long-term relationship with the residents rather than having a layer of contract staffers who might be there for a month, two months, or five months, and then going away. There was a feeling of solidity with the staffing there. In terms of facilities, everything was there, although some things were a bit on the old side. It was very clean, though, and it did not smell. I've been in skilled nursing facilities where you can smell them, and it smells like sickness in those places."

"Heart Homes was small, and it felt comfortable. It was warm and homey. The staff was very helpful and friendly. They had activities. They were playing bingo, and they watch TV. The bedrooms were fine and a decent size. They were clean and had their own bathroom. The dining room was the right size. "

"I toured several AL homes for my grandmother and I must say this home is by far the best. The house is very spacious and clean. The residents are in shared rooms, however they have their own space to walk around they even have their own chair in the rooms. They are also provided with their own dressers to store their personal belongings. The owner is very Knowledgeable and caring for the residents. Its shows on the residents faces. When I did my tour the resident was at the table playing a game of bingo. This is more than an AL, the owner created a comfortable home for the residents."

"I went to Mabel's House Assisted Living. I like the way it was set up. They had a private room where you share. It was more home-like. It's very clean. They had enough people there to assist the seniors. I liked it a lot. It was very nice. The staff was excellent. The facility was excellent. It was clean. It was nice and cool. It had a bar and a kitchen, like the island. It had enough bathrooms for everyone. It was a house. I was surprised. They had one person do the washing and cleaning. They had enough employees. It was very nice."

"This facility is exceptionall! The staff works VERY close with us to ensure mom's care needs are handled. She wasn't very active, and veryy reluctant to transition into a facility. Now she's become a social butterfly! The place is beautiful, bright and ALWAYS CLEAN! Activities are always coordinated for Mom. The Nurses and therapist are very sweet. After 2 years, I'm happy to say we've made the right choice! "

"I'm on a waiting list for the Waterfalls of Catonsville. They're redoing a wing of the building. They were very welcoming and I like that it's more of a home feel of an environment. That's what a place where my mom used to live was like. It's a smaller facility and they only have a limited number of residents, so they can get more care. There were always people with the residents. Even if they were in their bedroom or if they were in the common areas, there was always someone with them. The facility was nice and clean and all the people were clean. The staff was very nice and very welcoming. The room was more like a small bedroom with a bed and a dresser. The room wasn't as large, but the common spaces were large. They were doing art when I was there. They had a courtyard and they do activities in the dining room when it's not dining time. It's more like a multipurpose room. It used to be an old mansion that they've turned into housing. There are no long walks. They back up to parks, so they can walk in the park. They back up to a wooded area. They had their own chef."