As Sue Ryan’s husband’s dementia diagnosis progressed, it became obvious that keeping him at home would not be the best choice for his journey.
“He was a very social person,” recalls Ryan, adding that it became harder to keep him in a routine and engaged, which kept him stable, happy and at peace.
They began looking for memory care, a specialized type of elderly care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. Ryan, co-founder of The Caregiver’s Journey, a resource for dementia caregivers that offers candid and practical tips, and the cohost of The Caregiver’s Journey podcast, wanted to learn from others’ mistakes. She didn’t want to fall in love with marketing, fancy decor or the charm of a facility’s tour guide.
Visiting multiple communities at different times of day, she stayed out of sight, observing her husband for several hours. She spent time learning about their programs and amenities. One facility left her husband feeling confused and agitated. Another lost her husband. But the third? It made him smile.
Read on to learn how to find the best memory care facility near you, using our memory care checklist.
[Read: Continuing Care Retirement Community vs. Memory Care]
Signs It’s Time: When Is Memory Care Needed?
To know when memory care is needed, trust your own observations, talk to your loved one and discuss your concerns with their medical providers. The changes in your loved one may start subtly. Transitioning a loved one to memory care for their Alzheimer’s disease or dementia may be the best option to keep them safe and to maintain their hobbies and social connections.
The following may be helpful indicators that memory care is the next step in care:
| Category | Subtle signs (time to start searching) | Critical signs (immediate need for secured care) |
| Safety/risk | Increased difficulty with money/bills, occasional getting lost near home | Leaving the stove on, frequent unpreventable falls, dangerous wandering outside |
| Daily Life | Struggles with missing social appointments and some activities of daily living (ADLs), such as grooming or dressing | Inability or refusal to perform most ADLs |
| Behavioral | Increased anxiety or confusion, loss of previous hobbies | Combativeness, severe agitation that cannot be managed by current caregivers |
Finding memory care takes time. Start the search early, before your loved one’s condition has progressed. Waiting to search for memory care until the later stages of Alzheimer’s makes the search more stressful and could even increase risks to your loved one’s safety and well-being.
[READ Rapidly Progressive Dementia: Reasons for a Sudden Worsening of Dementia Symptoms]
Memory Care Checklist: 12 Steps to Find the Best Facility
You’ll need to keep several factors in mind when finding a memory care facility for your loved one. Here is a checklist for a memory care facility with 12 points to remember as you research, tour and receive price quotes for various communities.
1. Location and proximity: How do I find the best memory care near me?
Finding a memory care facility is easier when you start by narrowing down memory care facilities. First, search for which options are the right size and the right location.
Consider the following factors:
— The facility’s proximity to family members and friends who are most likely to visit your loved one
— How close the facility is to emergency medical care
— If the facility is large enough to have certain on-site services. For example, if your loved one needs a hip replacement, having on-site short-term rehabilitation makes their healing easier, and they wouldn’t have to leave their memory care facility for their rehab program.
— Being part of a larger medical system. Having a neurologist, primary care provider and physical therapist all within the same health network and with access to the same medical records facilitates comprehensive care.
[READ: 11 Health Problems That Can Mimic Dementia]
2. Levels of care: What is the difference between assisted living and nursing home memory care?
Memory care is often a part of assisted living communities or nursing homes, though they can sometimes be stand-alone facilities.
Finding a memory care facility is still possible even if your loved one is more independent and only needs assisted living. More than 1 in 10 assisted living facilities are catered toward adults with dementia, and almost 1 in 5 have a designated dementia care wing, according to the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living. On the other hand, if they need more help and medical care, nursing homes with memory care are available as well.
Consider minimizing moving your loved one around to multiple facilities. Some continuing care retirement communities, which have multiple care levels on a single campus, offer memory care, which may prevent disruptions or trauma caused by moving.
“Moving a senior with memory impairment can reduce their independence,” says Dr. John Showalter, Danville, Pennsylvania-based chief strategy officer of Linus Health, a digital health company enabling early detection of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. “In later stages of memory loss, seniors may not even remember that they have moved and become frequently disoriented in their new living situation.”
However, aging in place with long-term support for daily activities, he adds, can help prolong the senior’s independence.
[Read: When the Partners of Alzheimer’s Patients Seek Other Companionship]
3. Cost and financial aid: How much does memory care cost per month?
The price of memory care varies depending on the level of care, such as whether the care is in assisted living or a nursing home, the facility’s geographical location and the specific services offered in each facility. U.S. News, using publicly available data from multiple sources to average memory care costs across the country, estimates the average cost of memory care per month is $7,645.
To pay for memory care, look into options such as:
— Private funds
— Medicaid
— Medicare
— Social Security
A senior care financial advisor may also be helpful in outlining the best payment path for your loved one’s care.
[READ: Does Medicare Cover Memory Care?]
4. Quality ratings: Where can I find reliable reviews and facility ratings?
To find a memory care facility near you, create a shortlist of facilities you think would meet your preferences, needs and budget. Then, continue with more in-depth research on the individual facilities.
Check facility quality ratings to ensure they are meeting the minimum standards for workplace safety, accreditation and care standards. You can start by looking at:
— Accrediting agencies. The largest accrediting body in health care, The Joint Commission, creates standards for all types of health care facilities. The Joint Commission also awards the Gold Seal of Approval to health care providers committed to patient safety and quality of care.
— CMS Five-Star Quality Rating System. This system from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rates nursing homes on a scale of 1 to 5 stars based on state health inspections, staffing levels and quality measures.
— U.S. News Best Memory Care Communities. Use our search tool to see how memory care near you performed in areas such as safety, value, care services and more.
5. The touring process: What should I look for when visiting a facility?
Now that you’ve found options that meet the needs of your family and loved one, next on your memory care checklist is to tour your top picks.
Take time to:
— Watch how staff and residents interact throughout the day.
— Ask for a walk-through of what a typical day looks like for residents.
— Inquire about the facility’s unique programs that enhance the lives of memory care residents. Are there life-enriching activities, on-site physicians or memory care-specific safety measures, such as locator systems?
6. Staff training: How do I evaluate the competency of memory care caregivers?
While you’re on a tour, take time to meet the staff. Staff satisfaction and competency are key when finding a memory care facility. This will be reflected in the care your loved one receives.
Consider the following:
— Staff competency. Do staff members seem equipped to handle resident care and concerns? Are they communicating to residents, family members and visitors with confidence and respect?
— Staff recognition. See if the staff have displayed any patient-nominated awards that honor and celebrate their caliber of care. This may include award certificates or family and resident notes of appreciation displayed at the nurse’s station or facility walls.
— Staff standards of care. Showalter advises you to look for a facility that rarely uses restraints or hypnotic medications and one that has low rates of patients losing their independence and needing help with daily activities. “These measures show that the facility knows how to care for patients with memory impairment,” he adds.
— Staff training. “There is no registry or database that lists which training different memory center staff may have taken,” Showalter explains. “However, the best way to find out is to ask, ideally prior to making a decision about which memory center to use.”
Just as much as you are trying to learn about the staff by talking to them, don’t forget to also talk to the staff about your loved one.
“Caring for a patient in a memory care facility is a team sport,” Showalter explains.
It’s important the staff take an interest in getting to know your loved one, “such as if your loved one liked swing music, enjoyed particular shows or valued church services,” he says.
7. Safety protocols: What security measures prevent wandering and falls?
Resident safety should be the facility’s top priority. During your tour to find a memory care facility, make sure you understand what the memory care unit is doing to address top safety concerns with adults with dementia.
According to Dr. Gary Small, a geriatric psychiatrist, chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center and physician-in-chief for behavioral health at Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, some safety concerns include:
— Falls. Cognitively impaired individuals have trouble with balance. “Make sure handrails are present in all bedrooms, bathrooms and hallways. Additionally, inspect for wires, area rugs or steps that can lead to falls,” he notes.
— Wandering. Having space, especially outdoors, can alleviate a senior’s urge to wander. “Look for measures like alarms, secured gates and doors,” he advises.
— Medications. Adults with dementia have trouble remembering to take medications. “It’s essential the facility offers services that help residents manage their medicine to optimize the medication and avoid side effects,” he says.
— Agitation. Agitation is common in dementia residents. “Special staff training in dementia care is important since cognitively impaired people can become easily agitated by caregivers who lack knowledge in how to calm someone confused and upset,” Small explains.
[READ: Therapeutic Lying to Comfort a Loved One With Dementia]
8. Fee transparency: What are the common hidden costs in memory care?
Next on your memory care checklist is to make sure you understand all costs and fees associated with memory care to get a full picture of what services your loved one is getting. On your tour, you may request to meet with a facility representative to go over some of the costs with you. Ask if they require any type of deposit upfront, as well as the payment structure during your loved one’s stay.
Facilities might have a flat rate or a base rate with add-on services for extra charges. Examples of additional costs may include:
— Skilled nursing services, such as providing IV hydration
— Transportation
— Therapy, such as physical, occupational or speech therapy
— Meals served per day
9. Personalized care plans: How are dementia care assessments developed and updated?
All residents need a personalized care plan. Care plans are made up of several diagnoses, interventions and progress toward goals.
Nurses in memory care design a care plan with the following elements in mind:
— Diagnosis. Care plans are centered around nursing diagnoses. Unlike a medical diagnosis, nursing diagnoses focus on problems, risks, syndromes or health promotion related to a resident’s condition. A medical diagnosis might be “Alzheimer’s disease,” while a nursing diagnosis might be “self-care deficit related to cognitive impairment from dementia.”
— Intervention. Interventions list the actions the staff will take to reduce risk, create comfort or promote healing. One staff intervention for the above diagnosis might be to provide the resident with verbal cues and instructions to help them get dressed in the morning.
— Evaluation. Periodically, the nursing staff reviews how the residents are meeting their goals and how the diagnoses and interventions might need to be adjusted. For a resident who had a successful intervention, the nurse might document something like, “Resident was able to get dressed with standby assistance, and this goal will be reevaluated tomorrow.”
Here are some questions you may want to ask about care plans and assessments as you look for a memory care community:
— How are care plans developed?
— What are typical goals and plans within a care plan for your residents?
— How often are nurses assessing and evaluating care plans?
— How often are multidisciplinary teams, like therapists or dietitians, involved in care planning?
— How often does a doctor or advanced practice provider assess and evaluate the residents?
— Are resident rooms grouped with others who have care plans similar to theirs?
10. Cognitive engagement: What specialized activities and therapies are offered?
One of the key benefits of memory care is the specialized activities and therapies they offer for cognitive support. When touring a memory care facility, you may want to ask to sit in on some of their daily activities or speak to the activities director.
Activities may include:
— Mental stimulation activities, like puzzles
— Classes to learn a specific skill, such as baking or knitting
— Movie nights
— Game nights
— Arts and crafts
— Group and social activities
— Exercise activities and outings
— Cutting-edge programs that may be facility-specific, like the therapeutic use of sound, light or tactile sensation to improve mood
Small says the above activities help improve residents’ quality of life and optimize their cognitive abilities, mood and overall function.
11. Resident autonomy: What are the policies for transportation and family outings?
When finding a memory care facility near you, you’ll want to understand how accessible the memory care facility is and if they have any transportation limitations.
Here are some examples of what you might want to ask:
— How do residents get to and from off-site appointments, like dentist appointments?
— If a resident has a medical emergency, where would the ambulance likely bring them?
— Can residents leave the facility for a short trip with family members, such as going to their son’s house for their granddaughter’s first birthday party?
— If residents can leave, is private transportation allowed? Are there limitations on the amount of time they can leave?
12. Emergency preparedness: How does the facility handle medical and natural disasters?
Next on the memory care checklist is to understand how staff would respond if your loved one has an emergency. Memory care facilities should have protocols in place for all of the following common emergencies
:
— Natural disasters, fires and security threats
— Medical emergencies, like a heart attack or stroke
— Falls
— Medication errors
— Behavioral health incidents, like action taken when a resident becomes combative
Additionally, ask how the facility tracks and follows resident wishes, including do-not-resuscitate orders or medical power of attorney.
More from U.S. News
How to Use the U.S. News Ratings to Start the Senior Living Conversation
What Are the Levels of Senior Living? A 2026 Family Guide
Home Care vs. Assisted Living: 2026 Costs, Pros & How to Choose
How to Find the Best Memory Care Facility Near You: A 12-Step Checklist originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/15/26: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
