Your loved one doesn't necessarily need a dementia care community just because they have been diagnosed with dementia. - I managed memory care communities for 20 years.
My grandma, Doris, didn’t know what year it was and didn’t recognize some relatives, but she flourished in our assisted living community. She was not a flight risk; she had no behaviors causing her to act out, and the CNAs who took care of her were proactive in anticipating her daily routine. If I had decided Doris, with her mild dementia, needed to spend time in our memory care community, she would have realized that the folks around her were a little off and felt uncomfortable. If residents can recognize they are in a dementia care community, I believe they should not be in a dementia care community.
Don’t automatically start looking for a memory care community if your loved one receives a dementia diagnosis, and don’t always trust the view of an assisted living community nurse who may want to place your loved one in her memory care.
Too often, I hear, “My dad was diagnosed with dementia, and his physician thinks we need to find a memory care facility for him.” While that might be the case, often a memory care is still a few years away, and traditional assisted living may be a better fit in making the person you love feel happier and more engaged with life.