5 Signs It’s Time to Move Your Loved One with Dementia to Residential Care
Almost 50 million people worldwide are living with dementia. Alzheimer’s disease, the leading cause of cognitive impairment, affects more than 5 million patients in the United States. One in three seniors will die while suffering from some form of dementia, making it likely that most people have or will have a loved one with the condition.
If you are one of those people, whether a primary caregiver or a distant relative, one of the most difficult decisions you’ll have to face is when it’s time for the dementia patient to go to assisted living or memory care. Here are five signs that suggest you should start looking for residential care for your loved one with dementia:
- Personal finances — Often the first sign of the onset of dementia is trouble dealing with personal finances. Dementia patients can become confused by numbers, even if they’ve been doing their checkbooks for years. They often forget to pay bills or make duplicate purchases. Most worrying is that individuals with dementia are particularly vulnerable to financial scammers. It’s time to step in if you notice your loved one being secretive about purchases or transferring large amounts of money from his account.
- Managing health — There will come the point when the dementia patient cannot keep track of her medicines. Some even forget to eat, drink, bathe, or use the restroom. Any of these behaviors put your loved one at significant risk and are a signal that it’s time to get help for her to stay healthy.
- Wandering — It’s common for patients with dementia to stray away from home or caregivers and become lost. That is a challenge even for live-in caretakers, as it’s difficult to keep an eye on a loved one 24 hours a day. Residential care facilities have measures in place to make sure none of their dementia patients can come to harm by wandering.
- Depression — As the dementia patient loses the ability to do the things he enjoys, he is likely to become depressed and, in some cases, suicidal. Even basic socializing becomes difficult for the dementia patient, who often has trouble following a normal conversation. But isolation and depression don’t have to be part of your loved one’s disease. A residential care facility will have activities and opportunities to socialize geared to his diminished abilities.
- Your ability to provide care — Dementia is a progressive condition that in most cases is incurable. No matter how vigilant and dedicated you are, there will come a time when you will not be able to care for your loved one in a manner that will guarantee physical and mental health and safety. That is a painful realization, and a combination of guilt and grief keep too many caregivers from considering residential care for their loved one for too long. Make an honest assessment of your loved one’s decline, and the toll that caretaking is taking on your health. Find a support group or talk to a counselor or social worker to help you make the best decisions for you both.
It is heartbreaking to watch a loved one struggle with dementia and even harder to be the one to move him away from home. These five signs can help you decide when it’s time to consider residential care–for his health and yours.