Memory Care vs. Assisted Living: What's the Difference?

So, just what is the difference between assisted living and memory care?

It is a common question, and usually, it's asked by people whose senior loved ones have recently been diagnosed with dementia or begun to show signs of memory loss, who are considering placement and don't know what care options are available to them in Cincinnati.

Assisted living and memory care overlap in several areas. They widely differ in others.

Let’s explore the differences between them, so that you'll have the information you'll need to make the right care decisions if your older parent or loved one ever needs one, the other, or both.

Assisted living is just that — assisted. But still independent, to varying degrees.

The seniors in an Assisted Living community are quite able to look out for most of their own needs. They just need a little extra help with tasks spanning the full spectrum of daily living needs.

At the lowest level of intervention, seniors in assisted living might have chronic pain, mobility issues, or medical conditions, that limit their ability to do more difficult physical tasks, like cleaning, laundry, making the bed, etc.

Seniors at this level of care might need help with cooking, for example. They may need help bathing or dressing.

Or, they might require help with sorting out and remembering to take their daily medications, with organizing and paying bills, or other memory-based tasks — and this would be an instance in which assisted living and memory care might dovetail.

Many seniors with mild age-related memory loss or early-stage dementia are still quite capable of managing themselves day-to-day, but they need someone checking in with them often, reminding them.

In a more advanced assisted living arrangement, a senior might may need daily physical therapy or respiratory therapy, help to get into or out of the bed, with transitioning from sitting to standing and vice versa or help with toileting.

Or, he or she might require daily, one-on-one physical, occupational and speech therapy while recovering from a head injury or stroke. Again, this another area in which memory care might dovetail with assisted living, as stroke sufferers often incur memory loss and must relearn tasks.

In some cases, early and intensive memory interventions can stabilize the situation and prevent further cognitive loss.

Some individuals with moderate dementia receive similar advanced assisted living services — especially as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's begins to limit their mobility.

Moving from assisted living to residential memory care.

Eventually, as a senior's needs continue to change, an assisted living arrangement might need to evolve into full-time, residential memory care, or into an advanced skilled nursing arrangement.

And that's why continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) are popular with elders and their families. A resident can move along the entire continuum of care, from assisted living to advanced skilled nursing, without having to move to another senior community.

Spouses can stay near each other. Friendships needn't part. Seniors with significant memory loss needn't be forced into new and unfamiliar circumstances, which could be extremely disorienting and stressful for them.

For Cincinnati seniors and their families, that's some much-needed peace of mind.

And, if caring for your older loved one at home is becoming too difficult for you to manage on your own, this dementia guide could help you as you navigate through the difficult decisions ahead.

Episcopal Retirement Services works to improve the lives of older adults through innovative, quality senior living communities, and through in-home and community-based services. Its premier communities include the Marjorie P. Lee Retirement Community and Deupree House, located in the neighborhood of Hyde Park in Cincinnati.