For much of the elderly population, assisted living facilities become a viable and realistic option as they begin to age and decline in their ability to take care of themselves. For the many elderly patients suffering from dementia (alzheimer’s or otherwise), assisted living facilities present a place for long term care for Alzheimer’s patients and other such memory care facilities. Assisted living facilities are often the best places for someone suffering from dementia related problems to live, as it provides them with a safe environment and the round the clock care that many elderly people eventually come to need.

Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia are all too common in all places in the United States. In fact, not only is Alzheimer’s the sixth leading cause of death in the entire United States, it’s the only one of the top ten causes of death that is without any form of viable treatment plan available. All of Alzheimer’s treatment is considered to be palliative care, though preliminary studies have found that memory strengthening exercises can help to stave Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia off before they ever even develop. The vast majority of Alzheimer’s patients as well as other types of dementia patients will eventually need long term care as their condition declines. Fortunately, memory care assisted living facilities can fill this need, as twenty four hour supervision and care is easily able to be set up at most senior living homes. An assisted living facility can be beneficial as well in that it provides the elderly who live there with the food that they need and work to promote independence as well, far greater independence than would be afforded an elderly person who was living under the care of family members most likely unequipped to deal with the declining mental and physical faculties of a dementia patients.

And though many people are initially hesitant to consider assisted living facilities as a long term care option, more than half of all elderly people worry about becoming a burden to their loved ones more than anything else. An assisted living facility can prevent that from happening, as well as provide the proper standard of care. People who live in assisted living facilities have often found themselves making new friends and trying new activities – and most even said that it was thanks to the assisted living facility that they had these opportunities. The vast majority of people current living at an assisted living facility said that the experience of living there far exceeded their expectations of it, and that they were happier there than they could have anticipated.

There are many reasons that an assisted living facility becomes the best place for an elderly person to live, particularly if they are suffering from a form of dementia, most commonly Alzheimer’s (though there are more than one hundred types of dementia currently diagnosed in the United States today). An assisted living facility can provide the standard of care that typically can’t be found outside of one, even if the patient or elderly person is living with the most loving and well intentioned of family members. Though providing support in daily tasks, an assisted living facility can make sure that your loved ones stay safe as well as providing them with the opportunity to become engaged in the community of the retirement home. Though many elderly people are initially apprehensive about moving in to an assisted living facility, the majority of residents find to it be a much better experience than they had anticipated.