In Massachusetts, there are an estimated 6,859,819 residents as of 2017. Of these, approximately 130,000 people have Alzheimer's, and this number is expected to grow to 150,000 by 2025. With numbers like these, it's important for the state to have enough memory care facilities to support this population.
Hampden County, located in the western part of Massachusetts, includes the city of Springfield and has a population of 469,818 people, 16.5 percent of whom are age 65 or older. There are eight memory care facilities in Hampden County to support residents with Alzheimer's or dementia.
In Hampden County as in the rest of Massachusetts, memory care facilities are officially known as Dementia Special Care Units (DSCUs).