Santa Monica is a beachfront community of over 92,000 people on the Pacific shore of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Nearly 40 million people live in California, seniors over the age of 65 make up 15 percent of the population, and at least 650,000 people in the state have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Santa Monica has 46 memory care facilities inside its borders to take care of those living in the city.
Many of Santa Monica's memory care facilities operate as standalone properties, though some others are located on or near the grounds of assisted living communities. Properties that focus on treating seniors with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, Huntington's disease and advanced forms of Parkinson's disease are sometimes called residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) in official documents, and all such sites in California are regulated by the state Department of Health and Human Services, Senior Care Division.