A Question to Ask: Is There Memory Care?

A Question to Ask: Is There Memory Care?

A home for the aging is not complete without a Memory Care ward, though we all hope never to need it. And the happy news is that most of us will not need it.  We don’t belong there just because we are forgetful.

Forgetfulness is normal. We walk into a room and think, “Why did I come in here?  I was trying to pay a bill. Oh, yes, I need my checkbook.”  In the midst of a stressful moment, someone asks for your phone number, and you stumble, mix it up with your social security number or another number you frequently call.  Though we are annoyed, we laugh at ourselves and go on. We are not candidates for Memory Care.

But not all mental failures are natural and acceptable. 

A woman who impressed me as highly intelligent and capable was missing one day from the elder home in which she lived. An administrator called the police who found her more than a mile away. She had an explanation, totally logical to anyone who did not know her. The police returned her to the home, and the next time this happened, her family admitted that she had to be in Memory Care, which is a locked ward.

There are numerous types of memory loss, each originating in a specific part of the brain. Alzheimer’s is a disease. It is not part of the normal process of aging. Likewise some other forms of dementia are serious illnesses.

 Experts in this field know from a patient’s behavior which part of the brain is affected. A qualified memory department must be staffed with such trained people who understand and can identify the specific problem of each patient. This enables them to react in helpful ways to issues that arise and enable each patient to function to their fullest ability.  And to be safe. This is crucial to those who love them.

As with other illness, quality of life varies according to the severity of problems.

In Memory Care departments group activities are important. Most of the residents are unable to focus on a lecture of any kind, so a presentation should involve familiar objects or sounds. I discovered when visiting our memory ward that the residents responded with great interest to my stuffed animals. They wanted to hold them, rub their fur, talk to them.  Probably these objects brought back youthful experiences, made patients feel more alive.  In fact, one permanent area of the ward features materials to touch: rough materials, smooth stones, movable things like zippers. Residents seem to crave tactile experiences and become more alert in response. 

Music is the most popular activity of all and apparently the most therapeutic.  The mood in a roomful of patients changes, just because someone sits down at the piano and touches the keys. At the sound of a familiar song residents become more alert and happy.

Music has instant emotional power; it pulls up dormant feelings and provides links to the past. People who can’t remember their room number or how to find it, can sing the songs from their youth. 

Great strides have been made recently in the field of Memory Care, through the understanding of people like Teepa Snow whose techniques are based on the latest science of the human brain.

Unfortunately most residents in this department will degrade with time, becoming less and less capable.  Through it all, the expertise present in a good Memory Care department not only improves the quality of life for the patients but that of their family members as well. As with any illness, family members want to know that their loved one is understood, valued and treated with kindness and respect.

Though the ordinary loss of memory related to aging is not reason to send a resident to Memory Care, the existence of this department increases greatly the value of any home for the aging. The Memory Care ward, like the Skilled Nursing Department, will accept first patients who are already residents of the community, then, according to space available, those who come from other homes. This guarantee of a place, when needed, is one reason that a Memory Care ward is a great asset to any retirement community.  Proximity to the apartment of the mate is another, enabling the healthy mate to spend more time with the one who is ill.

So, don’t forget to ask about Memory Care.