A dementia diagnosis can feel overwhelming for families to manage. Its symptoms are often painful to witness, and without the right help, it can take a toll on family caregivers.
Help does exist, but many family caregivers have more questions than answers, like “What is memory care?” and “How can it really help us?”
In-home memory care, which also includes dementia care, is a specialized form of home care that addresses the needs of both seniors with cognitive decline and their families. It helps seniors maintain a sense of calm and dignity by giving them a structured, familiar routine—and it gives you the chance to rest easy knowing that your loved one is in good hands.
How Is Memory Care Different From Traditional Home Care?
Home care helps seniors age comfortably in place by providing for their needs through practical assistance with everyday living. Caregivers can help with a wide variety of day-to-day needs such as dressing, cooking, transportation and even simple companionship.
Dementia care is similar in some ways, but it goes further to address the impact of dementia on seniors and their families. Cognitive decline typically reduces people’s reasoning, memory and judgments, and it often causes anxiety or aggravation in unfamiliar scenarios, so memory care removes unnecessary decisions and provides a routine that puts them at ease.
Memory care incorporates many elements of other types of home care, modified to serve individuals experiencing cognitive decline. While a traditional caregiver would ask a senior what they want to eat before cooking dinner, one caring for someone with dementia who can’t communicate their desires might instead cook something based on a scheduled list of meals they know and like.
How Are Caregivers Trained for Memory Care?
Reliable home care agencies require special training for caregivers who offer memory care. Training programs like our award-winning Compassionate Memory Care Program teach them to adjust their overall care approach to the needs of seniors with dementia.
These programs teach caregivers about the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s and how to create a calm, comforting routine that meets the needs of seniors with cognitive decline. These caregivers also become familiar with the distress and fear dementia often causes families and learn how to offer comfort and peace of mind.
How In-Home Memory Care Comforts Seniors With Dementia
People with dementia do best in familiar situations, and there’s nowhere more familiar than the home they’ve lived in for years. However, many seniors with dementia must move to nursing facilities when their symptoms make it impossible to keep living at home.
This sudden change of setting and routine is often distressing—but in-home memory care can make it unnecessary. By enabling them to stay where they feel comfortable and happy, dementia care helps seniors keep aging gracefully in place instead of moving to a nursing home.
Memory Care You Can Count On
Managing dementia can feel overwhelming, but in-home memory care can help. It gives seniors the stable, nurturing environment they need to maintain a sense of dignity and calm as they age, while reducing the burden of family caregiving.
If you need help caring for a loved one with dementia, Gentle Shepherd Home Care is here for you. We’ll work with you to build a care plan that meets their individual likes, dislikes and needs, leading to a lasting sense of familiarity, safety and comfort.
Ready to get started? Reach out today and we’ll put you in touch with a Gentle Shepherd Home Care agency in your area.