Many people think that dementia is a disorder in itself, but it isn’t. It’s not a clear disease in its own right, but the term does refer to an impairment in how someone thinks or remembers things. Another myth about dementia is that it is a part of aging. It isn’t.
The kinds of dementia that can not be reversed refer to dementia that involves an actual cognitive or decision-making impairment. This kind of dementia is progressive in nature. It changes the quality of life of the patient, and as such, services like memory care may be needed. Learn more about what memory care is and its many benefits here.
What is Memory Care?
Memory care is a kind of residential long-term care that provides the patient with 24-hour service and support. It’s a kind of senior living that has grown by 55 percent between 2013 and 2018. This kind of care can help Alzheimer’s patients, but it helps patients with any kind of dementia.
Here the patient finds a safe environment that helps them to cope with their loss of skills and abilities positively. These facilities will help them to feel less confused. The communities also offer a safe place for residents to be treated or to get therapy that helps them with their long-term or short-term care.
Benefits of Memory Care
There are many benefits of this type of residential setting for the patient. They get taken care of in every way, from laundry to toileting. At the same time, they are given treatments that help them to cope with this devastating part of life where they realize they are forgetting things.
Because dementia is progressive most of the time, it’s impossible to predict what one day to the next will look like. The patient intuitively knows this and feels unsafe in their usual care settings. By the time they reach the point where their loved ones are considering long-term care, they are also struggling with the real fact that they are no longer able to live on their own.
They don’t just forget to bathe, for example, they forget that they have to or what day they last did that. One key symptom of dementia is aggression, and this comes up because the patient is angry and frustrated with their situation. This could compromise their safety and others if the frustration issue is left unattended. In a memory care setting, they can deal with their anger and frustration with loving staff and fellow residents safely and healthily.
Residential Dementia Care Provides Safety
This is an important benefit of any kind of long-term care for dementia patients. Safety is an excellent benefit of memory care though because it gives the patient a chance to feel calm. For many patients, arriving at a new facility is a frustrating experience in itself. A good memory care facility is designed in such a way that it helps patients feel safe as soon as they can after they get there.
The way memory care keeps patients safe is through a secure facility. The doors will be locked to prevent wandering, and patients are supervised so that they don’t wander off without being noticed. Most will have keypads or security features so that only the staff can control or monitor who is coming in and out of the building. Outdoor facilities in memory care will be closed off so that the residents can enjoy going outside without compromising their safety.
Do Your Research
When you are looking for long-term care for a loved one with dementia, consider memory care. Do your research with different facilities to see how memory care takes long-term care without these features to a new level of dementia care. This kind of living considers every minute of their everyday living to ensure that their safety and emotional needs are always being managed and cared for.