Williamsburg is located in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metropolitan area in Virginia, a state in which 140,000 people are living with Alzheimer's disease. The city itself is home to about 15,000 people, about 15 percent of which are at least 65 years old. To support local seniors who have Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, Williamsburg has nine memory care facilities, and there are two more outside of the city limits.
Memory care facilities in Williamsburg may also be referred to as "special care units," or SCUs. These facilities provide at least 16 hours a week of scheduled activities that focus on cognitive stimulation, physical functioning and natural world activities. Some SCUs are freestanding while others are located in secured units in assisted living facilities.