Several signs can indicate that your loved one needs help from a memory care facility. That includes a detrimental behavioral change characterized by confusion and disorientation.
Additionally, older citizens may show a sharp decline in physical health. Increased caregiver stress along with isolation and loneliness are other signs that prove that your loved one needs expert assistance. Luckily, there are several options for older adults with this kind of predicament. You can either move them to a freestanding community or a neighborhood community. What is the difference between the two? That is what we will be discussing in this article.
Freestanding Communities
An ideal retirement community is often stratified into three care levels depending on the needs or requirements of the residents. That includes the memory care section, the assisted living center, and independent living suites.
The memory care section will be a subsection of a much larger community. A freestanding community is a specific type of memory care community dedicated to serving guests with dementia or any other type of condition like Alzheimer’s disease. Essentially, every resident in the independent living and assisted living units has dementia.
These communities feature amenities and expertise designed to take good care of older adults with dementia. That begins with the groundskeepers and the caregiving team who are thoroughly trained to work with older folks with memory-related problems.
Freestanding communities tend to be relatively smaller in size when compared to neighborhood communities. On average they may contain between 30-70 residents. Because they exclusively accommodate residents with dementia and other memory problems, the communities often group the residents according to their illness stages.
For example, residents who are at a certain stage of Alzheimer’s disease will be placed in a similar peer group so that caregiving is made practical and efficient.
Neighborhood Communities
Just like in the case of freestanding communities, neighborhood communities can be a unit within a bigger unit. All the team members and caregivers in a neighborhood community possess expert-level skills on how to handle and care for older adults with varied forms of dementia.
These units are equipped with proper security amenities to protect the residents and keep them safe and secure if they happen to wander around. What sets them apart from freestanding communities is their unique setup. The neighborhood comes with its own set of dining rooms as well as other common places that enable guests to participate in different social activities or simply move about on their own.
Neighborhood communities also have exceptional arrangements for married couples. If you are married to someone diagnosed with dementia, the neighborhood can still accommodate the both of you. This allows married couples to reside in the same area and remain in close contact with each other.
Which is the Best Option for Your Loved One?
It is difficult to objectively choose between the two memory care living alternatives. Your final choices in this case should be guided by the needs of your loved one and your requirements. Both are excellent at providing customized care for older adults with memory problems. You need to carefully gauge the benefits provided by the two options and then find out what works for your elderly relative depending on his or her condition and desires.
