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When Is Memory Care the Right Fit for a Loved One with Dementia?

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When Home Care isn’t Enough

Of older adults ages 71 and over, 13.9% are living with a dementia diagnosis according to a recent study by the National Institute on Aging. By age 90, prevalence rises to 37%.  Most individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia, or mild cognitive impairment live at home, and 43 million Americans with these diagnoses live alone. 

While most older adults desire to remain at home as they age, and often can with the right support, here are some early signs your loved one may live healthier and safer in a community with 24-hour care. 

  • Meal preparation & regularity begin to suffer
  • Weight loss
  • Wandering or becoming lost
  • Isolating at home
  • Disrupted sleep or nighttime agitation
  • Dehydration
  • Confusion with bill paying

For loved ones who need a higher level of skilled care and supervision, memory care may be an alternative that fosters safety, belonging, and connection. Many communities offer private suite or apartment accommodations, and memory support communities are often located within or adjacent to independent living, assisted living, or skilled nursing care. 

Memory care typically provides assistance with daily living activities like dressing, bathing, medication management, and meals, plus staff training and customized programs designed around the unique needs of dementia patients. Programs are designed to support routines, stimulate cognition, and create a sense of connection for residents.

Even with help from community-based services and respite services, providing care at home for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia becomes increasingly difficult. In advanced stages of the disease, trained caregivers who can quickly recognize anxiety, stress, and efforts to communicate unmet needs can greatly improve resident quality of life, health, and facilitate education and support for families. 

Designed for Peace of Mind

Memory care neighborhoods are often expressly designed for the specific needs that come with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.  Communities often feature cozy open common areas that invite connection, or circular or square hallway layouts to prevent the anxiety that can come for a person living with dementia reaching a barrier or closed door.  Apartments often lack individual kitchens, but instead offer an open kitchen and dining space in common areas where residents can participate in preparing food and smell the scents of cooking so important to stimulating appetites in those with declining cognition. 

Many neighborhoods feature secure courtyards or outdoor spaces and the best incorporate outdoor programming, aligning with research on the importance of sunlight in supporting healthy circadian rhythms and decreasing sundowning in individuals with cognitive decline. 

While some assisted living facilities do have secure areas to accommodate those with mild dementia, memory care units often require a code for entry, visually obscure the neighborhood entrance from the inside, and are required to assess residents’ exit-seeking and wandering to assure their safety.

Paying for Dementia Care

Many families are surprised to learn that Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for most Alzheimer’s care or dementia-friendly neighborhoods, as most communities operate under an assisted living license. While Colorado offers limited reimbursement for assisted living, rates are low enough that few Denver Metro memory care communities participate in the program, leaving residents and the families stretching their remaining assets to pay the bill. 

According to the National Council on Aging, families are bearing 86% of the costs for memory care in the U.S., which averages $6160 per month in 2024.  In cities like Greenwood Village, Centennial, Aurora, and other Denver suburbs, quality community monthly fees for this service often reach $8000-$10,000 per month.  Monthly fees can be confusing, with some communities presenting level of care pricing, some all-inclusive, and some a la carte.  This is where the expert senior placement agents at Senior Living Options of Colorado can be so helpful. 

How to Select The Best Memory Care Community

Curious about what questions you should ask when touring an assisted living or memory care community? View our suggested checklist.  

U.S. News & World Report, which each year compiles a list of the best memory care communities, relies on family and resident surveys that cover food, staff, management, safety, programs, and caregiving. Or call to speak personally with a Senior Care Advocate at (720) 288-3974.  Whether you’re planning for a future need or require an emergency senior living placement, we’re here to help. 

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Why We are Better than most!

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As part of our involvement, we will continue to advocate for your loved one by completing reassessment every 3, 6 and 12 months during the first 12 months to help determine the safety and wellness of their living environment. We will address any unforeseen changes in condition. No other company will do this for you FREE of charge.

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What to Look for When You’re Looking for an Assisted Living Community

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Whether you’re researching for yourself, a friend or a family member, navigating the world of assisted living can be challenging. Knowing this, over the course of this blog, our goal at Senior Living Options of Colorado is to make it easy to understand assisted living services.  We’ll guide you through the multitude of benefits living in a great assisted living community can provide.

Along the way, we’ll discuss who needs assisted living in Metro Denver, explore how senior living community offerings have changed in recent years, and explain exactly how Senior Living Options of Colorado can help you find the assisted living community that best suits your needs.

What is assisted living?

Simply put, assisted living is a type of care that provides assistance with daily needs but allows residents to remain independent. Unlike a nursing home, which focuses mostly on medical care, assisted living facilities typically focus on alleviating the stress of life’s more complicated tasks.

Residents who live in an Denver area assisted living communities typically live in their own apartments or rooms and share common areas. In this aspect, assisted living is very similar to dorm living or the structure of a regular apartment complex.

The exact care provided at an assisted living community may vary from one to the next. However, general services offered at an assisted living community include assistance with personal care, medications, housekeeping and cooking. Assisted living facilities also provide security and social activities.

Most assisted living facilities also offer different levels of care depending upon a resident’s individual preferences and needs. Assisted living can include various levels of medical care. Assisted living facilities in Colorado are licensed through the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.

How have local senior-living offerings changed recently?

While most senior living facilities used to focus primarily on medical care, it’s becoming increasingly common for senior-living facilities to also offer a wider array of amenities and features. Today residents are not simply seeking a facility that will take care of their medical needs but a community where they can attend social events and maintain their lifestyles.

To keep up with the growing demands of residents, retirement living options are being constructed differently than they have ever been in the past. Today, facility design productively promotes the needs, wants and desires of its residents. While in the past most senior living communities would resemble a standard nursing home, today assisted living facilities may include anything from recreational centers, swimming pools and movie theaters to restaurants, golf courses and multiple dining venues.

The level of care placed in designing a curriculum of recreational events and activities is also higher than it has ever been. Most assisted living facilities frequently host game nights, movies, outings, educational programs and volunteer opportunities aimed at connecting residents and creating a community.

Who needs assisted living?

Whether you’re assessing your own needs or the needs of a family member, it can be difficult to decide if assisted living is the right choice. A great way to decide if assisted living is right for you or your family member is to assess what tasks you or they need help with.

The following list of ADLs (activities of daily living) are ones you should consider before looking into assisted living. If you find yourself or your family member needing or wanting help with several activities or tasks included on this list, then assisted living might be the right choice.

  • Bathing
  • Dressing
  • Toileting (going to the bathroom)
  • Transferring (getting in and out of bed)
  • Continence (controlling your bowels)
  • Dining

In addition to considering the ADLs listed above it’s also important to consider IADLs (instrumental activities of daily living):

  • Managing money (i.e., writing checks, handling cash, keeping a budget)
  • Managing medications (i.e., taking the appropriate dose of medication at the right time)
  • Cooking (i.e., preparing meals or snacks, microwave/stove usage)
  • Housekeeping (i.e., performing light and heavy chores, such as dusting or mowing the lawn)
  • Using appliances (i.e., using the telephone, television, or vacuum appropriately)
  • Shopping (i.e., purchasing, discerning between items)
  • Extracurriculars (i.e., maintaining a hobby or some sort of leisure activities)

How much can people expect to pay for a decent assisted living community?

While the level of care and exact price of care will vary from one assisted living community, it’s important to estimate how much you can expect to pay per month before deciding on assisted living. According to AssistedLiving.org, the average resident of an assisted living community in Colorado will pay $5,000 per month.

Taking this average into account, assisted living in Colorado is less expensive than the average price of assisted living in the United States. According to one blog, the average cost of assisted living care in the United States is $5,350 per month.

What does Senior Living Options of Colorado do?

Senior Living Options of Colorado is a placement agency that helps assess the needs of a potential resident and formulate a community selection that will address current needs and anticipate future needs. All potential residents receive a free professional assessment from a registered nurse.

In addition to assessing a resident’s needs and placing them in a suitable and exciting assisted living community, we also continue to provide ongoing care management. Even after placement, we continue to advocate for the resident by completing reassessments after every 3, 6 and 12 months during the first two years of care. This helps us ensure residents are getting the best level of care and their care, health and lifestyle needs are all being met.

Far too many seniors are placed in a care facility that doesn’t meet their needs. Senior Living Options of Colorado aims to make sure every resident gets the care they need and is placed in a community that allows them to continue to thrive.

How should people approach their search for an assisted living community?

When searching for an assisted living community, it’s important to consider a wide range of factors. The most important factors to consider are an individual’s current needs, an individual’s future needs, and an individual’s financial stability. After you consider these factors, it’s also important to inspect each facility you tour or research.

When researching a particular assisted living community, you should first make sure the facility is licensed and ensure the facility meets your state’s regulations. Next, you should try to ask other residents of the facility or their family members if the facility meets their needs. Senior Living Options of Colorado can also provide a complete overview of the level of care provided at each facility we have placed residents in.

Next, you should ask about the financial cost of each facility and ask if the facility has a waiting list. If the financial demands of the facility align with your means, you should make sure to visit the facility a few times before agreeing to a contract.

We recommend consulting an attorney to review an assisted living contract prior to signing.

When you deal with Senior Living Options of Colorado, we make it very easy to get honest and effective assisted living care. We vet all of the facilities we place residents in and our continued reassessments make sure all residents are getting the level of care they need now and in the future.

Find more Frequently Asked Questions here.

What are the warning signs of bad care?

It’s frightening to imagine that the care provided to your loved one is bad. To avoid dangerous or negligent care, it’s important to always scrutinize the level of care being provided. While visiting your loved one or talking with them over the phone, it’s also important to watch out for several warning signs of bad care.

The most obvious warning signs of bad care are:

  • Sudden emotional or physical changes
  • Evasive staff or failure to answer common questions
  • Unorganized or frantic staff
  • High staff turnover
  • Direct refusal of care from a particular staff member
  • Bad personal hygiene

What are the warning signs of a bad assisted living place?

Just as frightening as bad care, the thought of moving a family member into a bad facility can be equally tormenting. Luckily, Senior Living Options of Colorado can take the stress out of choosing an assisted living place. In addition to ensuring the level of care meets our standards, we also inspect every assisted living place we recommend.

These are the warning signs we look for when inspecting a facility:

  • Poor reviews
  • Uncleanliness
  • Unsafe location or conditions
  • Overly loud environment
  • Low-quality meals
  • Inflexible visitation hours
  • Lack of individual privacy
  • Lack of outdoor and indoor activities

The Senior Living Options of Colorado Promise

We seek to go above and beyond to ensure we properly address the current and future needs of our clients. Our high-caliber care starts with our commitment to having a registered nurse assess the health and needs of each resident.

Senior Living Options of Colorado also places great emphasis on selecting an assisted living community that will suit the current and future needs of a resident. We’re here to help you make an informed decision! Contact our team today.

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Urgent Placements 24/7?

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Call us 24/7- 720-288-3974

Families find themselves in need of emergency placement when there is a life changing event such as

  • A medical emergency
  • Sudden onset of an acute condition
  • change in medications
  • The death of a spouse or other caregiver
  • The onset of difficult symptoms of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other medical conditions
  • An incident or unsatisfactory care provided by a current care facility
  • The necessity of medication that must be administered by a professional

If you need help call us. We are always available –even after hours!

We Move QUICKLY 24/7

With multiple Senior Care Advocates available after hours, we’ll move quickly to secure the BEST placement possible.

First, We will complete the FREE initial Needs Assessment, including medical needs, the wants of the senior in a living arrangement, location,budgetary considerations, and cognitive impairments (Alzheimers, Dementia), physical assessment.

Whether interested in assisted living, an independent senior community, or full-time nursing care, we will utilize our highly proprietary data bank of EVERY senior living facility in Colorado to find the environment best-suited for your loved one.

We will help with the paperwork and other administrative requirements to help ease the stress of the situation.

By combining professional resources with expert knowledge, your senior care consultant will be able to provide you an ideal selection of best-fit options to consider –even on the tightest timeline.

A consultant will help you complete all the administrative requirements of placing your loved one in their new home, including completing and submitting paperwork and establishing a clear line of communication with the selected facility or community.

How Much Does Emergency Placement Cost?

At Senior Living Options of Colorado Senior Placement for emergency/urgent placement is provided FREE of Charge!

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Skilled Nursing/Long Term Care Some Assisted Living

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  • 24-hour Licensed Nursing Care
  • Individualized Care Plans and Transition Support
  • Resident and Family Care Meetings
  • Daily Activities and Programs
  • Scheduled Transportation
  • Daily Housekeeping and Laundry Service
  • Emergency Call Response in Every Room
  • Private or Companion Accommodations
  • Dining with Heart-healthy Options
  • Beautifully Landscaped Gardens and Grounds
  • iPads and Wi-Fi for Individual Engagement
  • Art, Technology, and Music Programs
  • Ageless Spirit Program Which Promotes Spirituality
  • Post-surgical Care
  • Medication Management
  • Pain Management
  • Wound Care
  • Oxygen Therapy
  • Continence Care
  • Catheter Care
  • Colostomy Care
  • Nutrition and Hydration Programs
  • Diabetes Care
  • Cardiac Care
  • CVA/Stroke Care
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Joint Replacement/Fracture Care
  • IV Therapy/TPN/Antibiotic Management Rehabilitation
  • Physical Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Speech Therapy
  • Orthopedic Rehab
  • Neurologic Rehab for Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s
  • Fall Prevention Program
  • Dysphagia/Swallowing Program (VitalStim)
  • Adaptive/Assistive Equipment
  • Activities of Daily Living Retraining
  • Cardiac Heart Failure Program (not Cardiac Rehab)
  • Home Assessment/Visit for a Safe Discharge

Continuing Care Retirement Communities

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Progressive conditions such as dementia result in ever-increasing care needs. Increasing care needs often necessitate a change in living environments. In a fairly short period of time, a person with Alzheimer’s may move for their home to assisted living to memory care and finally to a nursing home. These moves are often marked by difficult transitions as the resident adapts to their new environment. This is where Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) come into play. Housed in a single location, a resident can receive whatever level of care their require. As the disease progresses, individuals are not required to move. For almost anyone with Alzheimer’s, this is preferred but the drawback is the expense of CCRCs. CCRCs often require a large upfront “move-in” fee and for many middle-class Americans, this is out of reach unless they sell their homes to offset the move-in cost.

What is Assisted Living?

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Licensed through the State of Colorado government, the facilities vary in size, services, and cost. Assisted living facilities also provide care for individuals in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Residents may not have many medical problems but do need more intensive support for Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).

WHAT SERVICES CAN I EXPECT IN AN ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY?

Because care requirements vary for each resident, most assisted living communities create an individualized care plan for every senior they consider for admission. These plans are subject to modification as residents’ needs change over time. Examples of supplemental services include special supervision for residents with Alzheimer’s, medication management, and a range of quality-of-life services.

IS ASSISTED LIVING AND A NURSING HOME THE SAME?

A nursing home provides a level of medical care beyond that offered in an assisted living facility. It offers complex medical services and employs a full-time nursing staff. It is important to note that assisted living is not an alternative to a nursing home where the individual requires complete help.

WHAT OPTIONS FOR LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN A TYPICAL ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY?

Assisted living communities provide different types of living accommodations, with most having multiple options to suit individual preferences. Many offer private or semi-private units in the form of single-room studios or full apartments. Some communities provide converted homes for residents; others offer accommodations in multiple floor apartment complexes.

In assisted living, individuals generally live in a private studio, private or shared apartment, with staff available to assist them 24 hours a day. They also have common area dining room accommodations for multiple residents to dine together, all at one time.

Care assistance and services include

  • Laundry & Housekeeping
  • Ambulation and transfers
  • Transportation to appointments
  • Activities (trivia, outings to local attractions, senior board games etc)
  • Socialization (Happy hours, family dinners, musical performances)
  • Caregivers up to 24 hours a day subject to additional costs
  • Medication administration/compliance and monitoring
  • Personal care – dressing, bathing, toileting, perrycare assistance
  • Incontinence Management

Quick Assessment

If your loved one is NOT adequately working to perform most of the activities below consistently and safely without assistance, assisted living may be an appropriate alternative.

  • Managing money (i.e., writing checks, handling cash, keeping a budget)
  • Managing medications (i.e., taking the appropriate dose of medication at the right time)
  • Cooking (i.e., preparing meals or snacks, microwave/stove usage)
  • Housekeeping (i.e., performing light and heavy chores, such as dusting or mowing the lawn)
  • Using appliances (i.e., using the telephone, television, or vacuum appropriately)
  • Shopping (i.e., purchasing, discerning between items)
  • Extracurriculars (i.e., maintaining a hobby or some sort of leisure activities)
  • Bathing (i.e., able to bathe without assistance in cleaning or getting into tub or shower)
  • Toilet Use (i.e., able to use the toilet and clean oneself afterwards)
  • Control or continence of urine and bowels (i.e., able to wait for the right time and the right place)
  • Dressing and grooming (i.e., able to button a shirt, choosing appropriate clothing)
  • Moving about (i.e., able to move in and out of a chair or bed, walking)
  • Eating (i.e., able to eat without having food to mouth assistance)