Age brings many challenges, among them a loss of independence that means some seniors will need help taking care of themselves. There are many senior living options available for folks who need hands-on support, and two common ones can provide big benefits for residents: assisted living and memory care.
While these two options are similar in many ways, they have some important differences. Here, we’ll unpack everything you need to know about these two senior living options so you can find the best type of care for your loved one.
[Read: 7 Signs It’s Time to Move to a Senior Living Facility]
What Is Assisted Living?
Assisted living provides a safe space for seniors to live with the support they need to retain what independence they can. These facilities offer safe living spaces and personal care services to support older adults who can no longer manage all of their activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing and making meals, on their own.
“A good assisted living facility will make sure your loved one is eating right and engaged with other residents. They also manage medications and are there in case of a medical emergency,” says Dr. Elizabeth Landsverk, a geriatrician in the San Francisco area who offers online telemedicine, education and a support resource for eldercare professionals, caregivers and families.
[Read: How to Talk to a Loved One About Senior Living]
What Is Memory Care?
Memory care aims to support older adults who are experiencing cognitive decline. When someone has Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia and can no longer take care of themselves, it may be time for them to move into a memory care facility.
Assisted living and memory care are two distinct types of senior living options and both are different from nursing homes, adds Dwayne Clark, founder, CEO and chairman of Aegis Living, a Seattle-based senior living company with 39 locations in the western United States.
For example, nursing homes operate under different regulatory requirements and provide round-the-clock nursing care for chronic conditions or acute illness or injury, which is a little different from memory care.
[Read: What to Expect From a Memory Care Facility]
Memory Care in Assisted Living
There are some similarities between assisted living and memory care in that both serve older adults who need help with the activities of daily living. In fact, many assisted living communities have a separate section of the building for people with cognitive problems — a dedicated memory care ward for people with cognitive impairments.
If you’re considering moving a parent or other loved one with a dementia diagnosis into a particular facility, make sure it offers memory care services. Not all assisted living communities offer dementia care, and if your loved one is likely to need that specialized support down the line, it’s best to select a facility that offers it even before it’s 100% necessary.
Key Differences Between Assisted Living and Memory Care
There can be some overlap between assisted living and memory care, but there are five key differences:
Care needs and services
Assisted living services typically include:
— Helping residents with bathing, dressing, toileting and other personal care services
— Providing meals and homemaking services, such as laundry and cleaning
— Medication management
— Social and recreational activities
In memory care, all of those same care services are available, plus:
— An added emphasis on safety and security
— More medical support
— Activities designed to support cognitive health
What your loved one needs will depend entirely on their diagnosis and their prognosis.
“Each dementia patient is at a different level of physical and mental health,” explains Jennifer Moses, a full-time faculty of practice professor at Wilkes University in the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Some need more physical assistance than others, and when your loved one’s care needs exceed what staff at a general assisted living center can provide, they should consider moving into a memory care facility.
Staff training
Staffers working in memory care centers, from the top administrator down to the janitors, have extra training that caters to people with cognitive impairment.
“You must be trained in how to work with redirection of patients and addressing any behavioral issues,” Moses says.
All staff are trained on dementia and Alzheimer’s care every other year, or annually for direct care staff and activity professionals, adds Toni Lynn Davis, executive director, senior services, with Monmouth Crossing Assisted Living and The Manor at CentraState Medical Center, part of Atlantic Health System in Freehold, New Jersey.
More extensive training for direct care staff focuses on developing tools to deescalate, engage and redirect residents to ensure good care, Davis says. Ensuring that all staff have some specialized dementia training is a key differentiation between memory care versus assisted living communities.
Activities and therapies
The types of activities and therapies on offer in a general assisted living community are different from those in a memory care facility.
In assisted living, the emphasis is on socializing, supporting general well-being and boosting physical activity. Activities range from outings and happy hours to books clubs and exercises classes.
“Activities in assisted living communities are vital for keeping residents active, engaged and socially connected,” explains Stacey Eisenberg, a senior care expert and owner of A Place At Home — North Austin home care agency in Round Rock, Texas.
Having many diverse activity options indicates that an assisted living community is “committed to the residents’ holistic well-being,” which can help prevent “issues like social isolation, boredom and a decrease in overall life satisfaction among residents,” she adds.
In memory care, the focus is on supporting cognitive health by establishing a dependable routine, reducing stress and engaging in activities that help preserve cognition.
“All residents are treated individually based on their abilities that day,” Davis says. “Some may prefer independent programs, such as art or gardening, while others may benefit from more social engagement like games, discussions or a learning activity.”
The activities a person with dementia accesses also vary depending on the severity of their diagnosis.
“For example, there may be bingo for mild impairment patients and music for advanced cognitive patients for whom bingo may be too much work,” Moses explains.
When it comes to health care support, residents in assisted living typically receive very little. In memory care, they may receive more ongoing health care, with an emphasis on therapies targeted to support cognition.
Some memory care facilities, like CentraState, are also part of the larger health care system and located on the campus of medical centers, allowing patients and residents to benefit from seamless, coordinated access to clinician expertise and comprehensive health care services.
Safety and security features
“Safety is one of the most important concerns as dementia patients often wander,” Moses notes.
Therefore, memory care centers almost always have added safety features that aren’t as common in assisted living facilities, such as:
— Locks on doors and wards to prevent residents from leaving their designated area
— Alarms that sound when a resident opens certain doors
— Sensors that alert staff if a resident has left a certain area or is trying to access another part of the building
— Frequent safety checks to ensure all residents are safe and accounted for
Safety features can also be subtler and even incorporated into the design and decor of the building. For example, bright lighting and wide corridors to accommodate stretchers and wheelchairs in a simple, easy-to-navigate layout are best in memory care centers, Davis says, as dark or cramped spaces can be distressing for people with dementia.
Even the paint on the walls and the pattern on the carpeting can make a difference to a resident’s experience, she adds. Bright colors and bold patterns can agitate or confuse residents, as many people with dementia have difficulty perceiving or understanding patterns.
Amenities
Both assisted living and memory care communities offer these basic amenities:
— Housing
— Meals
— Assistance with daily activities and personal care tasks
— Laundry and housekeeping services
— Medication management
— Transportation options
— Activities
— Opportunities for social engagement and connection with others
Where amenities diverge is primarily in their focus. In memory care, the emphasis is on supervising residents very closely to keep them secure. Activities are targeted to support cognitive function and soothe anxiety and agitation. Establishing a set routine is very important, as that brings comfort to many people with dementia.
There are typically more staff on duty and specifically more health care staff on site at memory care centers than in a typical assisted living facility because people with dementia have more complicated health care needs.
Costs of Memory Care vs. Assisted Living
Memory care virtually always costs more than assisted living when all cost-influencing factors are taken into account.
Genworth Financial’s 2024 Cost of Care Survey found that the national monthly median cost of an assisted living community is $5,900, or $70,800 annually.
Compare that to the 2025 median initial cost for memory care in the U.S., $7,899 monthly, or almost $95,000 annually, according to December 2023 data from the National Investment Center, a nonprofit that tracks the senior care industry.
As with any senior living situation, cost is highly variable and depends on a number of factors ranging from services used and geographic location to amenities and size of the living space.
Residents or their families must often cover a large portion of these costs, depending on the specific diagnosis and care provided, explains Whitney Stidom, vice president of sales enablement with eHealth Inc., a health insurance broker and online resource provider headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
Medicare covers some forms of inpatient and outpatient care, but there are limitations. For example, Medicare Part A covers hospital stays and skilled nursing care for up to 100 days after a qualifying hospital stay. It also covers an unlimited number of days of hospice care for eligible beneficiaries who have advanced dementia.
Meanwhile, Medicare Part B pays for doctors’ visits, tests to diagnose dementia, outpatient therapies and some preventive services, Stidom notes. This includes cognitive screening and more in-depth testing to diagnose dementia.
But neither Part A nor Part B covers room and board. Medicare also typically does not cover custodial care when a person with dementia is in a nursing home or assisted living facility unless skilled nursing care or therapy is required, she explains.
It can get complicated, so if your loved one is a Medicare beneficiary and needs dementia care, it’s important to check what’s covered and understand what their financial liabilities will be when accessing care.
Who Should Choose Assisted Living?
The ideal candidate for an assisted living community is someone who:
— Is a senior citizen
— Needs help with some daily tasks, such as bathing or toileting
— Has no significant memory loss or cognitive impairment
— Wants to maintain a more independent lifestyle
— Wants to have access to personal care services and support
— Is looking to connect with peers for social engagement and stimulation
Who Should Choose Memory Care?
The ideal candidate for a memory care facility is someone who:
— Needs help with several tasks of daily living
— Has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or another type of cognitive impairment
— Needs a structured routine and supervision because of those cognitive difficulties
— Needs ongoing medical care related to a dementia diagnosis or another cognitive issue
— Is at risk of wandering and could get injured or lost if allowed to roam
— Can no longer be safely cared for at home by a family caregiver
How to Choose Between Assisted Living and Memory Care
Choosing between an assisted living community and a memory care facility isn’t always easy. They have many similarities, and some communities offer both options.
However, there are some key questions to ask when deciding between assisted living and memory care:
— How independent is your loved one?
— Does your loved one want more help day-to-day?
— How severe is your loved one’s level of memory impairment or cognitive decline?
— Does your loved one need specialized dementia-specific care?
— Is it unsafe to leave your loved one alone for any period of time?
— Does your loved one tend to wander?
— Does your loved one need additional safety features to prevent injury?
When to Transition From Assisted Living to Memory Care
Cognitive decline isn’t always a linear process, and your loved one may seem able to take care of themselves some days and not so much on others. This can make it tricky to determine the right time to transition from assisted living to memory care.
Keep an eye out for these signs that it may be time to upgrade their care:
— Your loved one starts needing more hands-on care from staff in assisted living.
— Your loved one often seems confused, fearful, uncomfortable or combative.
— Your loved one seems more forgetful, develops personality changes or begins having problems interacting with others.
— Your loved one’s needs aren’t being met appropriately by staff at the assisted living facility.
— Staff at the assisted living center recommend that your loved one move to a higher level of care.
Many families delay the move into memory care for a variety of reasons. But moving earlier is always preferable to waiting too long as you’ll have more time to take advantage of the services and amenities on offer.
Additional Resources
There are many resources available to help families and individuals with cognitive impairment. The following may help as you navigate caring for a parent or other loved one with dementia:
— Start by talking with your loved one’s health care provider. They can often point you in the right direction for community-based resources that are available to help you in supporting a loved one with dementia.
— You can also reach out to local aging-related organizations, such as your town’s senior center. USAging offers online tools to find your local agency.
— The Alzheimer’s Association has a network of local chapters you can search online.
— Government programs can be helpful to families with a dementia diagnosis. Contact the Social Security Administration to find out if your loved one qualifies for disability benefits. Your state’s Medicaid department may also be a resource for assistance.
— If your loved one or their spouse is or was a military veteran, contact your local Department of Veterans Affairs office for information about which programs they might be eligible for.
— Some seniors may also qualify for Indian Health Services programming that supports Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
— The Association for Community Living provides an online Eldercare Locator that can help with your search.
— U.S. News offers online rankings for both assisted living communities and memory care facilities. These rankings are based on data from more 400,000 resident and family survey responses from more than 3,500 senior living communities nationwide.
More from U.S. News
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Hiring an In-Home Caregiver: What to Consider
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Assisted Living vs. Memory Care: The Key Differences originally appeared on usnews.com
