Inhibited memory affects many people as they progress into their later years. A large number of issues that affect older people can damage short and long-term memory. Alzheimer’s, stroke, or concussive injury can all damage sensitive memory retaining parts of the brain. For people with memory inhibition, specialist senior living communities can help foster a healthy and relatively independent life. Here is what you should look for in a good memory care assisted living community.
Good Memory Care Provides Extra Structure, But Not Extra Rules
In most senior living communities, meals and activities are available, but staff do not ensure that residents are reminded and personally helped to their daily activities. Residents with memory issues caused by Alzheimer’s or previous strokes can find this lack of structure extremely confusing. A good memory care center ensures that any help with routine and itineration is given by staff to residents. Staff members actively remind residents about medicine intake, meal times, and appointments. This structure helps residents feel more secure in their environment. A good memory care community does not, however, trap residents in a needless routine. They make sure that the input of the resident is taken into account when developing plans, which the staff will then help the resident carry out.
A Memory Care Community Is Only as Good as Its Staffing
The quality of life in a memory care-oriented senior living community is very reliant upon the staff that works there. The best staff are well provisioned, numerous and highly trained. Not all senior living communities treat their staff well or hire enough workers. You’ll need to be very careful to choose a new home where there is a good staff to resident ratio. No matter how good the equipment and accommodation are in a community, the quality of care will suffer if there are not enough skilled staff.
According to Brightview Senior Living, some senior living communities you’re considering may have a waitlist, so it’s important to start researching your options as soon as you think you might be ready. The best memory care centers are usually inundated with applications for residency. Make sure to make inquiries about the staff to resident ratio offered by your prospective community well in advance.
Layout and Environment Are Important
Residents with memory issues are often disorientated by dead ends, multiple staircases, and tight spaces. Memory is one of the crucial psychological elements of orientation, and the loss of memory can hinder a person’s ability to find their way around. A good memory care community will be laid out in a logical and open way. There have been plenty of architectural studies conducted with the express aim of designing environments for people experiencing memory loss. Architecture and interior design created with memory inhibited people in mind often makes use of open spaces, logical wayfinding techniques, and the deliberate use of suggestive color. Some memory care communities have integrated plants and the ability to care for plants into their design. This is thought to help connect memory inhibited people to the environment and the material world around them.
