Operating Memory Care Nursing Homes: 5 Tips for Facilities

Memory care nursing homes provide safe and structured care environments for residents with dementia. These facilities elevate traditional nursing home services by offering predictable routines and activities that support cognitive functioning — often making them a preferred option for families worried about their loved one’s well-being.

Given that over 3 million residents are currently living with Alzheimer’s, adding a memory care unit to your facility can be a great way to ensure quality care for this vulnerable population. In this article, we’ll summarize what goes into a memory care program and outline five tips for effective implementation.

What Is the Difference Between Memory Care and Nursing Home Care?

Memory care nursing homes are still nursing homes, but they have a dedicated unit to care for residents experiencing cognitive decline. These units are often operated separately from the rest of the facility — providing a more secure environment to reduce the risk of wandering and injury associated with dementia.

Residents in memory care units still receive the 24/7 monitoring and assistance provided in traditional nursing homes, but their daily routines are more closely tailored to their symptoms. The physical environment is designed to enhance safety, and staff are trained to promote a structure that helps residents live as independently as possible. Below we’ll summarize some of the key differences between memory care and traditional nursing home care.

Is Memory Care Considered Skilled Nursing?

While memory care is most commonly delivered in nursing homes, it can also be offered at skilled nursing facilities. However, memory care and skilled nursing care aren’t interchangeable terms. Skilled nursing facilities are designed to help people rehabilitate from a wide range of illnesses and injuries, whereas memory care units focus solely on enhancing the lives of residents with dementia.

5 Tips for Operating Memory Care Nursing Homes

If you’re looking to offer memory care at your facility, it’s important to keep the needs of both your residents and their families in mind. Your environment, staff, and care structure should be built around the overarching goal of helping residents with memory loss live comfortably and independently. Here are five essential tips to help you accomplish this.

1. Design the Environment to Facilitate Wayfinding

Wayfinding refers to a resident’s ability to find their way around their environment. Studies have shown that effective wayfinding is vital to a resident’s autonomy and wellbeing — especially when they’re living with dementia. When residents are familiar with their environments, they’re less likely to experience confusion, anxiety, and stress.

Optimizing the physical space of your memory care unit is one of the most effective ways to facilitate wayfinding among your residents. Here are some best design practices to follow:

• Create straight, predictable, and nonobstructive paths between rooms.
• Have one dining room and kitchen in a central location.
• Use consistent signage at key areas and residents’ rooms.
• Use color-coded hallways, visual cues, or landmarks to foster familiarity.
• Maintain adequate lighting (natural and artificial) to reduce shadows.

2. Ensure Adequate Staffing to Support Structured Routines

In addition to properly structuring the environment, you should also implement structured routines by ensuring that meals, activities, and personal care are provided at the same time everyday. A daily routine is important for residents with dementia because predictability helps them retain their sense of control.

Memory care nursing homes must be adequately staffed in order to minimize disruptions and effectively maintain these routines. Beyond simply meeting minimum staffing standards, carefully consider how many staff you’ll need to provide residents with the personalized attention that they require.

3. Provide Meaningful and Stimulating Activities

Part of creating a structured routine is incorporating activities that help promote well-being. Residents with dementia benefit most from activities that are familiar, stimulating, and tailored to their abilities. This can include anything from music therapy to board games. Just make sure that these activity sessions are kept brief and offered at times when residents are most alert and oriented each day.

4. Integrate Staff Training Into Daily Care Practices

A memory care nursing home needs staff who are well-trained in memory support. However, studies have shown that staff who receive one-off training may quickly revert back to their usual care practices, which can defeat the purpose of having a memory care unit.

To ensure that memory care training is useful, it should be iteratively developed and delivered alongside daily care practices. For example, some memory care units have an on-site dementia care expert who’s available to provide day-to-day, ad-hoc training. This type of coaching model allows staff to continuously refresh their skills and rework strategies that may be causing roadblocks in resident care.

5. Keep Families Informed and Involved

Families turn to memory care because they want to ensure their loved one is receiving the dedicated attention they need. Regularly communicating and engaging with families is essential for building this trust and assurance. You can use the following strategies to keep families more informed and involved in your daily operations:

• Maintain flexible visitation hours to accommodate family schedules.
• Provide frequent updates about their loved one’s condition.
• Encourage shared decision-making and collaborative care planning.
• Promote resources and family councils that foster a sense of community.

Taking these steps can not only benefit families, but also improve the mental health of residents. When families are more involved in the care process, residents with dementia have another source of familiarity and comfort — which can ultimately improve their overall quality of life.

Discover More Ways to Support Your Residents

Operating successful memory care nursing homes requires ongoing learning and improvement. Need help keeping up with the latest evidence-based practices? Get dozens of expert-written insights on healthcare management, compliance, and more delivered straight to your inbox.