Compare Memory Care Homes to Large Institutions

Family Participation and Support

At Assured Assisted Living we know that Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia affect the entire family. That's why we take special care to offer support to the resident's family through a variety of services including a Family Resource Library and regular support group meetings.

We are passionate about providing the best possible care for each of our residents. We believe that an active partnership with the families serves as the foundation for providing individualized care for your loved one.

Our active volunteer program further encourages family involvement in the resident's lives. Assured Assisted Living does more than welcome our residents, we welcome their families as well.

Secured Memory Care Homes vs. Non-secured Assisted Living Facilities

First of all, many families will say that their loved one is not at risk for wandering and as such do not need a secured environment. They also believe that mixing resident populations will somehow improve their loved one's memory by somehow socializing with alert, cognitive residents.

This is a myth and in fact can cause more confusion, anxiety and even increased behavior issues. Many times staff in regular assisted living facilities have basic skills for working with a resident with dementia. Sometimes even a simple problem like a resident with dementia repeating a question over and over to another resident can become annoying for the other resident without dementia. This can lead to frustration and anger that escalates between residents.

Another issue in mixing the type of residents is the activity programming. Someone who does not have dementia will want to watch regular TV programs such as "Soap Operas", daytime talk shows, the news, etc that will just cause more confusion to the resident with dementia. This is just "Noise" to the dementia resident and could cause an elevation of anxiety or behavior out bursts. Often times these Assisted Living Facilities will then oversedate the dementia  resident with medications to try and calm them so that they do not interfere with the cognitive residents. It's not really fair to either resident. Mixing the two environments can be a recipe for problems for the residents and overwhelming to the staff not trained to work with residents with dementia.

Non-secured facilities also believe that just one or two residents with memory loss are ok. They believe it's ok to just use ID bracelets or have a door alarm in case they decide to walk out. The facility doesn't think about what the staff situation might be when the dementia resident takes off through the front door. The staff person may be busy assisting another resident. Maybe, they don't even notice. It's something to think about. With a secured environment there isn't anyone entering or exiting that is not aware of the environment which promotes the most safety for each resident.

So when it comes to needing Secured vs Non-secured it really is about the home being "Dementia Specific" with the programming, staff and environment that is specialized for the care of residents with Memory Issues. The "Secured Door" is only a safety precaution. Remember that Alzheimer's Disease is a progressive disease and you want to ensure that your loved ones will actually be able to "Age in Place" through all stages of the disease. You also want an environment that is a calming, structured envrionment that is conducive to the dementia resident's unique needs.  

End of Life Hospice Services

To continue our dedicated service throughout the end of life we work closely with Hospice to help ensure the highest quality of care.

We want to provide our families comfort in knowing their loved one will be able to stay in their "home" rather than moving to another facility during end stage dementia care. Hospice nurses and aids are able to team together with Assured Assisted Living staff to make staying at "home" possible.