Alzheimer's Disease: Choosing the Health Care Facility to Suit You

Finding the best longer term care facilities for a person with Alzheimer's disease should not be taken lightly and should be discussed by the person and any family members and even friends involved in his or her care. Finding out all you can about your options is the best way to ensure that your loved one will get the care he or she needs and wants.

What Services Are Available?

Care services usually fall into three categories:

• Respite care
• Residential care
• Hospice

Respite Care

This kind of care provides the caregiver temporary relief from day-to-day tasks and demands of caregiving. It will also allow the person with Alzheimer's the opportunity to remain in the community longer.

Respite care is mainly offered through community organizations or residential facilities. The most common respite care programs include:

In-home services -- These provide services ranging from personal care, befriending services, and help with household requirements to providing skilled care. Although there are some government programs that provide this service, you may need to employ someone privately or through an agency.

Adult day services -- This is the best way to ensure that the person with Alzheimer's disease continues to interact with others. The service is usually provided in a community center or facility. A variety of staff-led activities are conducted throughout the day, like support groups, dance programs, musical activities, and games. Transportation and meals are often provided.

Residential Care Facilities

Making the decision to move into a residential facility may be very difficult, but often it is the only way to see that the person with Alzheimer's receives the level of care he or she needs. Residential facilities are able to provide different levels of care, according to each individual's situation.

• Retirement housing. This type of setting is more appropriate for someone with early Alzheimer's who is still able to care for him/herself independently and live alone safely but will have difficulty managing an entire house. Generally, the site is less well supervised (no 24-hour supervision), and the staff may know very little about dementia.
• Basic Assisted living . This is the step between living independently and living in a nursing home. They offer housing, as well as support and personalized assistance and health care services.
• Nursing homes . This may be the only option when round-the-clock care and long-term medical treatment are needed. A good nursing home will be able to address a host of needs such as care planning, recreational activities, spirituality, nutrition, and medical care. Many facilities have special units designed to meet the specific needs of people with dementia.
• Continuum care retirement communities. These offer the different grades of residential facilities in one unit. Residents may need to be moved between buildings to receive different services.

Hospice Care

Hospice is an organization that emphasizes comfort and care when a person is in the late stages of his/her disease, without considering drastic lifesaving measures. You should be able to find local hospice organizations, although home care agencies, hospitals, and nursing homes may provide the service, too.

The cost for each type of care differs by service and community. Financial assistance may be available through state or federal programs like Medicare, Medicaid or organizations like the VA.

Reviewed by the doctors at the The Cleveland Clinic Neuroscience Center.