MA nursing homes must meet standards to advertise dementia care

In order to advertise as a memory care provider, nursing homes in Massachusetts now have to meet specific state standards, according to new rules issued earlier this month.

The state health department worked with the Alzheimer's Association of Massachusetts and New Hampshire and determined that nearly 60 percent of facilities that advertised memory care did not have documentation stating they had completed training, staffing or design changes, The Boston Globe reports.

The Globe shared part of a letter the health department sent a letter to all nursing homes stating, "A facility which does not operate a dementia special care unit may not include a reference to dementia care or memory care in a list of provided services . . . even with a disclaimer that the facility does not operate a dementia special care unit."

Read more about the new state standards here. 

Megan Combs

Megan Combs was Associate Editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long Term Living from 2013-2018.