Comprehensive Memory Care for Alzheimer's and Dementia

Understanding the need for specialized support

"Dementia" describes a condition, fundamentally it starts as a problem with short term memory, plus problems processing new information. It can progress, in a typical 10-15 year course, to a near complete shutdown of the ability to think, speak, and interact. It also can cause various physical problems, including losing the ability to walk and generally move under control.

Dementia has several causes. The most common cause is Alzheimer's disease. This is a degenerative disease, it causes slow, significant damage to the brain and eventually the body. Parkinson's Disease is also associated with dementia, and in some cases the dementia most associated with Parkinson's, which is called Lewy Body disease, can progress in a relatively rapid and unpredictable manner.

In addition, when the brain becomes damaged by a disease process like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, ambulation, speech, continence, and other daily functions are often affected. Keeping this eventuality in mind, most Memory units also spend a great deal of time on physical needs. The mind controls the central nervous system and hence the body, and Memory units typically assume that residents with dementia will eventually need a full and intense range of personal care services, too.

There are other types of dementia including Frontotemporal, Vascular, and Mixed Dementia. While there is no cure for dementia and these underlying conditions, there are drugs that, for some people, can slow progression. Lifestyle changes can also be supportive for some individuals.

Medicaid Funded

New York Medicaid does not pay for Memory Care within the Medicaid funded Assisted Living communities, although seniors who are relatively early in the Dementia process can sometimes live, for a time, in a Medicaid funded Assisted Living community.

Private Pay

Supportive care for a senior with Dementia involves care for their physical needs, plus interacting with them in a specific and supportive manner appropriate to the disease. The cost in a private pay Long Island or Queens Assisted Living community for Dementia Care averages $9,000-$11,000 per month. Some communities charge an All-Inclusive fee for seniors with Dementia, while others charge on a "Rent + Care" basis. There are a couple less expensive options (facilities) appropriate for some seniors.

For most families facing a future with a senior living with Dementia realize that they are facing a long-term situation. Although everyone is different, people who develop Alzheimer's and Parkinson's can plan on a 10-15-year course, while those who develop other types of Dementia, like Lewy Body and Frontotemporal, will typically see a slightly shorter course. Of course, these time estimates are general, and some people progress more or less quickly. People with Alzheimer's typically have a relatively orderly, steady decline, both physically and from a cognitive standpoint, while those with Lewy Body and Frontotemporal have a less predictable decline that might be described as a series of stairsteps.

Most families turn to Assisted Living later in the disease when options for care in the home have been exhausted. At some point, a senior with Dementia and its often- associated physical problems will be just too much for many families to safely manage in the home. A very wise and experienced Dementia practitioner once commented that while Dementia is a terrible disease for the senior, it can also impact the lives of one or even two generations beyond the person experiencing the disease. Many families choose to ask an Assisted Living community to take on the physical and social care needed for their senior with Dementia, allowing them to visit and focus on simply interacting with their loved one.