The memory care community your loved one is going to reside in is a monumental decision on your part that can be anxiety-inducing to make final. Hence, you may be asking recently: where are the best memory care communities near me? How do I choose the right one? By considering the following, you can make a more informed decision that’ll leave both you and your loved one confident in your choice.
Do They Have a Medical Director on Staff?
The recent pandemic has shed further light on the importance of a medical director present in a memory care community. Medical directors have a long list of responsibilities assigned to their role: behavioral management, primary care provider consultations, care transition, and staff management.
Recently, on top of all of these duties, they also ensure residents’ safety against COVID-19 by creating safety measures and quarantine protocols. This is doubly important as older adults are more vulnerable to the disease. The presence of a medical director implies stronger management of clinical staff within the memory care community, so do take a lookout for an on-site medical director.
What Medical Services are Available On-site?
It’s ideal if a bulk of residents’ medical needs can be accommodated with the equipment and facilities on-site. It’s not just for convenience’s sake, but also for preventing your loved one from challenges with confusion, having to go from place to place to receive aid. How suitable the services depend on your loved one’s health condition. However, some examples of medical services that are always useful to have on-site are physical therapy rooms, a pharmacy, and labs.
What are the Staffing Ratios for Each Shift?
The team member-to-resident ratio is a crucial detail to ask for when touring a memory care community. The lower the ratio is, the more team members available to attend to a single resident like your loved one. A lower team member-to-resident ratio, the more support they can provide for your loved one’s overall wellbeing since there are more people to go around providing care.
What Does Their Event Calendar Look Like?
Memory care communities all come with their individual, unique event calendars that allow residents to social opportunities, giving them the chance to interact with their fellow residents through recreational activity. Hence, it’s important to judge how suitable a memory care community’s activities are for your loved one. This can improve your loved one’s mood and engagement, as group activities have a noted positive effect on dementia patients.
What are Their Housing Unit Choices?
By understanding all the living options available for your loved one, you can consider which is more suitable for your loved one. Furthermore, if cost is part of your criteria in choosing a living option for your loved one, an option to look out for is semi-private rooms. Usually, they’re the more affordable option compared to private rooms.
Join Our Memory Care Community at Aston Gardens At Pelican Pointe!
Our retirement community at Aston Gardens At Pelican Pointe prides itself on our award-winning SHINE® Memory Care program curriculum. Your loved one is in good hands when joining our memory care community here in sunny Florida!
