by I Advance Senior Care How does your memory care facility rank?
Memory care is the fastest-growing segment of the long-term care industry. There’s no signs of slowing down, so facilities need to adapt to stand out in the changing aging landscape.
About 175 leaders gathered Thursday in San Diego for a deep dive into the latest issues surrounding quality memory care delivery at the Institute for the Advancement of Senior Care’s third Memory Care Forum.
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Image courtesy the Alzheimer's Association |
More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, one type of dementia, and a new diagnosis happens every 66 seconds, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The old ways of housing memory care patients are out. The industry needs a new model.
“Forty percent of people in assisted living have some form of dementia, and six in 10 will exhibit some sort of wandering behavior,” says Doug Pace, director of dementia care services and support at the Alzheimer’s Association.
Pace polled the crowd to get the pulse of the industry from attendees who manage or lead memory care initiatives at their facilities.
Here’s what they had to say
- On wander management: Almost 50 percent of polled attendees use secured perimeters. Thirty percent use door alarms and a secured unit. At least 13 percent use radio frequency wearable devices.
- On training: Eighty percent of responders say their facility requires dementia care training during an employee’s onboarding.
- Care planning: Almost 25 percent of respondents say they do not involve the front-line staff as part of the care planning team. Eighty-two percent say they use the consistent staffing method in their units.
Most importantly, how can leading memory care providers share what they’re learning?
“Forget that we're competitors” Pace says. “We're all fighting the same disease.”
The Memory Care Forum continues tomorrow. Stay tuned for our continuing coverage both here and on Twitter using the hashtag #MCForum.
Are you bummed you’re missing out? Don’t worry. The Memory Care Forums will be back in late-May (Philadelphia) and late-September (San Diego) 2017. We can’t wait to see you there!
I Advance Senior Care is the industry-leading source for practical, in-depth, business-building, and resident care information for owners, executives, administrators, and directors of nursing at assisted living communities, skilled nursing facilities, post-acute facilities, and continuing care retirement communities. The I Advance Senior Care editorial team and industry experts provide market analysis, strategic direction, policy commentary, clinical best-practices, business management, and technology breakthroughs.
I Advance Senior Care is part of the Institute for the Advancement of Senior Care and published by Plain-English Health Care.
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