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How Does Memory Care Help Seniors Suffering From Memory Loss?
Date Updated: July 26, 2024
Written by:
Ashlee Shefer is a freelance copywriter, content writer, and digital marketer who specializes in senior care, mental health, health care, and other wellness-related topics. She has one year of experience writing both short- and long-form content related to senior resources, assisted living, nursing homes, and home care, including blog posts, research-based articles, resource guides, product reviews, facility blurbs, finances, and care costs.
Memory care helps seniors suffering from memory loss by providing a secure environment, with 24-hour specially trained staff and therapeutic activities proven to enhance cognitive functions. Staff develops personalized care plans for each resident, outlining care needs, cognitive challenges and personal interests to deliver tailored services.
Memory care communities also offer mentally stimulating activities to evoke fond memories, reduce cognitive decline and alleviate symptoms, such as anxiety or confusion, that traditional assisted living communities or nursing homes do not.How does memory care differ from other senior care types?
Memory care communities differ from other senior care types, such as assisted living and nursing homes, due to their advanced security features, easy-to-navigate layouts and specialized therapeutic services. Many communities provide personal emergency alert pendants and security measures, including locked entrances, keypad entries and obscured exits, to prevent residents from wandering and getting lost or injured.
Additionally, they minimize confusion and frustration with thoughtfully designed layouts featuring simple walkways, identifying markers and spacious, brightly lit interiors. Specially trained staff is also available 24/7 to provide support and administer therapeutic activities, including music therapy, sensory stimulation and reminiscence, that improve cognitive abilities and help foster a sense of achievement.
How to tell when it’s time for memory care
It may be time to consider memory care when your loved one can no longer live safely alone, and you aren’t able to sufficiently care for them. This is a challenging decision to make, especially since cognitive disorders progress gradually and symptoms present differently in each person. However, there are a few situations that may indicate your loved one needs memory care:
- Having trouble maintaining personal hygiene and self-care
- Getting disoriented or lost while driving or walking a familiar route
- Struggling to carry a conversation
- Becoming increasingly forgetful, agitated or aggressive
- Consistently putting oneself in danger, such as forgetting to lock the doors or turning the stove off
- Showing concerning physical changes, including weight loss or frailty
- Neglecting finances, bills, household chores and personal grooming
- Having to stay home due to unpredictable or uncooperative behavior