Watching your loved one battle with dementia can be heartbreaking, especially when you’re doing everything in your power to take care of them. Unfortunately, there often comes a time when you or your family cannot support the unique needs of someone with progressing dementia, and it’s best that they move to a facility that can better assist them. Deciding when it’s time to move your loved one into memory care can be difficult, but it’s important to know when they are ready.
Signs It’s Time Your Loved One Needs Memory Care
Every case of dementia can look different, progress at various rates, and cause different symptoms. Because of this, it can be difficult figuring out when it’s time to have your loved one moved into memory care. There are, however, symptoms you should look out for that may be a sign it’s time to do just that:
Severe Confusion and Memory Loss
Dementia causes a decrease in overall cognitive function, which can lead to poor judgment, severe confusion and disorientation, and memory loss. Because of this, someone dealing with dementia shouldn’t be left alone, as it can quickly lead to dangerous situations. For example, someone with dementia may forget the rules of the road while they’re driving. This can result in dangerous accidents and makes it unsafe for both them and other drivers on the road. Memory loss can also affect someone’s ability to do important or even basic tasks, as a person with dementia can forget about them quickly.
Wandering
Wandering is a dangerous activity that commonly occurs in people suffering from dementia. It may occur due to the disorientation, confusion, and memory loss with which a person is dealing. This can cause a person to leave home with either no destination in mind or to leave with a specific one that may not be accessible. By moving your loved one into memory care, you can ensure that they will stay safe and won’t wander off, as they are constantly supervised by caretakers in a comfortable living space.
A Decline in Their Health
One of the most alarming signs it may be time to move your loved one into a memory care center is when you notice their overall health decreasing. Because of memory loss and poor cognitive function, it can get increasingly hard for a person with dementia to take care of themselves, especially if they are alone. This is because they can easily forget how to do basic tasks, such as cooking or eating for themselves, as well as small things like brushing their teeth or taking showers. Weight loss, lack of food or basic necessities at home, failure to take care of hygiene, and unexplainable bruises or injuries are all signs that your loved one’s health is decreasing from dementia.
Unsafe at Home
Dementia can cause a person to forget to take care of things. This makes simple upkeep tasks much harder. If you know or suspect that someone has dementia, you may realize they may not be able to keep up their home on their own due to their potential danger. Trash piling up, bills not being paid, and a lack of proper meals all create an unsafe living situation that is not healthy for someone with dementia.
Caregiver Is Overwhelmed
Whether it’s you or a caretaker you hired, when the person helping to care for your loved one with progressing dementia begins to get overwhelmed by the job at hand, this is often a sign that it’s time for memory care. Caring for someone with severe dementia is difficult, especially when you’re trying to do it on your own. Dementia patients need around-the-clock supervision as well as intricate care to help keep their brains stimulated. Once their illness reaches a certain point, it’s best to move into memory care so that they can be taken care of properly.
Dementia Diagnosis
If a loved one receives a diagnosis of a form of dementia, it may be time to consider the different memory care options available to them. Diseases like Alzheimer’s and Frontotemporal dementia can progress quickly, making your loved one unable to take proper care of themself. While there is no cure for dementia, there are a variety of treatments that can help patients better fight the symptoms of their illnesses as they progress. Memory care is one of the best options for those who are dealing with worsening symptoms of dementia.
What Does a Memory Care Facility Do?
A memory care center is a specialized assisted living facility that is designed with dementia patients as the priority. Memory care facilities are full of experienced and specially trained caretakers that help to supervise, assist, and care for your loved ones in the unique way they require. Because every form of dementia can cause varying symptoms and progress at a different rate, each patient requires individual attention and unique care to be helped properly.
A memory care facility also focuses on treating people with dementia while providing them with a comfortable living situation and a high quality of life. Treatments such as medication, stimulation and supportive therapies, and socialization all are important services that memory care centers provide. At an assisted living memory care facility, your loved one will be fed, assisted with hygiene and basic needs, given a comfortable place to stay and socialize, and supervised with the care they deserve.
Moving Into Memory Care
The sooner treatment begins, the more effective it can be. While making the decision to move a loved one into memory care can be incredibly difficult, it is most often for the best. Memory care centers can provide the care that your loved one both needs and deserves to have. At Rocky Mountain Assisted Living, we want to help provide that care that your loved one deserves, which is why we offer a variety of different assisted living services for our patients in Denver. To learn more about our uniquely designed services that may be able to help you and your loved ones, don’t hesitate to contact us today.