Burlington, Massachusetts, is a suburb of Boston with a history stretching back to the colonial area. This is a state with over 130,000 diagnosed Alzheimer's and dementia patients, mostly seniors aged 65 and older. Many of Burlington's seniors, comprising 20 percent of the town's population of 26,000, may be vulnerable to these conditions. To accommodate them, Burlington has nearly 40 memory care facilities, with more in the greater Boston metro area.
Memory care facilities in Burlington are regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which stipulates security measures for residents, staff to patient ratios and around-the-clock supervision. This includes both assisted living facilities that have separate memory care wings as well as Alzheimer's-only treatment centers, called dementia special care units (DSCUs). Other memory care facilities attached to assisted living communities are called special care residences (SCR).Â