Alzheimer Dementia Memory Care

The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that as many as 5 million Americans (or 1.5 % of the population) have some level of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a brutal disease that destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior. In the advanced stages, the damage is severe enough to affect basic tasks like eating and talking. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is eventually fatal. Today Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.

Alzheimer’s currently has no cure but there are treatments that can slow the progression of the disease. Therefore, it is critical that seniors with signs of Alzheimer’s get quality periodic medical supervision.

Although Alzheimer’s disease is 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases, there several other types of dementia that affect seniors.

The 5.4 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s in the United States make it the most common type of dementia, destroying brain cells and causing confusion, anger, mood swings, language breakdown and long-term memory loss.

• Frontotemporal Dementia
• Vascular Dementia
• Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
• Dementia with Lewy Bodies
• Mixed Dementia
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Huntington’s Disease
• Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
• Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

The advanced stages of these forms of dementia may require seniors to live in a special dementia care facility. Dementia tends to start slow but then accelerate rapidly. Life in an dementia care center can not be compared with other senior living options. The facilities are design more for the safety of the residents than the standard of living. Since Dementia patents become easily disoriented, many facilities have very simple single floor plans. Since cooking involves too many hazards, it is not allowed in dementia centers. One of the biggest hazards for dementia patients is getting lost or wandering off. For this reason, all the exterior doors at the facility are usually secure. Some facilities also have a secure (locked) outdoor area and bracelets that activate an alarm if they leave the area. Some residents feel like they are in a prison but there is currently no better option.

Unlike Alzheimer’s Care and assisted living, planned activities focus on rehabilitation and prevention of deterioration. Many facilities have special memory care programs designed to slow the disease. This treatment is the main activity in a dementia care campus.

For the early stages of dementia, assisted living can be a much better option. Assisted Living allows for a much more enjoyable and active life. If you find a campus that offers both assisted living and dementia care, then it can be an easier transition. Once someone moves into dementia care , they rarely move  to another care oriented community. This is where Lifetime Care Group’s latest innovative and health based community affords the highest levels of care and quality of life.

Your Personal Advisor can help you find the right resources and community for you. They can tell you what structured activities are available, whether there are secured areas to prevent wandering, a common symptom of the disease, and other important details – all without cost or obligation to you.