These websites offer excellent information about the different options of long term care available for your loved one-either in the home or in a facility, the types of facilities, the cost of the facilities, suggestions as to how to pay for the care, https://www.seniorliving.org/care/
https://www.seniorliving.org/memory-care/ "Most memory care centers are specialized nursing homes or specialized areas of nursing homes. Assisted living communities increasingly have memory care divisions too. Memory care centers ensure that residents won't wander away; exits are carefully monitored. Employees and visiting specialists facilitate daily social events and potentially therapeutic activities."
https://www.seniorliving.org/nursing-homes/ "Nursing home residents typically are recovering from illness or injury, or need help managing chronic health issues such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or dementia. Many of the (skilled nursing) homes are equipped with oxygen tanks, dialysis machines and other medical equipment that isn't normally found at assisted living centers.
After being hospitalized for a week, my Mom transferred to a Skilled Nursing Facility for Medicare Rehab Physical and Occupational Therapy and stayed in the wing when these type of residents were. Eventually Mom's PT and OT were discontinued because she refused to participate and Medicare refused to pay for her care once PT & OT ended. Mom continued to live in the same room. Her "classification" was changed from "Medicare Rehab" to "Private Pay/Semi-Private room".
When Mom began to wheel off of the "Rehab" nursing unit on to other nursing units (to look for my brother and myself), she was tranferred to the "Memory Care Unit" which had three (3) levels of care. Mom was in the same building, just a different nursing "unit/area/floor/section". The main door to the Memory Care Unit would close and lock if a resident wearing a "Wandering" sensor (or their wheelchair had a "Wandering" sensor on it) got too close to the main door. The other two units were "Locked Units" that were locked at all times and could only be opened using a keypad. Our family was able to take Mom out of the Memory Care Unit to a "Family Dining Room" for family meals or visitation and she could attend activities supervised by the Activity Department staff.
My Mother-in-Law went directly to a Memory Care facility that specialized in caring for people with cognitive problems such as wandering, combativeness, dementia, Alzheimer's, memory problems, etc.
More simply, skilled nursing is more medically focused while memory care is focused on mental decline, stimulating activities, and support for memory-related issues.
A good memory care place will be able to handle your loved one from whatever level of care they need. My mother's place has residents who are seemingly fine in terms of health with just some memory issues, all the way to those who are on hospice care, wheelchair- or bed-ridden. Some are unable to feed or bathe themselves, others can do it all.
For all of them, though, the focus is on mental stimulation rather than actual "nursing" of health issues.
SNF is when you leave hospital but still require some hospital care. This could be for monitoring a diabetic condition, for wound care, for some other reason that required skilled medical attention. Memory care is a unit you would be in if your deficits due to dementia put you as a danger to yourself. You would require likely a locked facility, but you would not necessarily need skilled nursing care. You would need more careful attention and there would be more staff then a normal just plain old assisted living facility. I hope that is a beginning of an answer to your questions, anyway. Skilled Nursing Facility is usually, most often, covered by medicare for some number of days (check with them) but Memory care is not unless patient is on medicaid and facility accepts medicaid.
Skilled Nursing Facility may have a very wide range of residents with a variety of conditions. Some may get better, some may not. Memory Care Facility will have people that have been diagnosed with some form of Dementia. Skilled Nursing Facility is not always a locked unit. Memory Care Facility will always be a locked wing or building (if the entire building is all Memory Care the building will be locked if the Memory Care is in a wing of a larger Facility only the Memory Care wing will have a coded door.) Usually a Memory Care Facility will require that a resident when they first enter be able to walk, transfer from from one place to another. As they decline if equipment is needed they can use equipment to aid in transfers. A Nursing Home will "accept" residents from the first day that need equipment to aid in transfers. The best way to determine what facility would be best would be to tour the facility you are thinking about and ask what the criteria is for each. An evaluation is normally done to determine if your loved one would be suited for MCF or SNF
Who does the evaluation ? At the MCF where my LO is a resident the “powers that be” told us that because of “excessive “ falls he either had to have 24/7 sitters (at $20.00 per hour) or go to SNF. He has moderate dementia. Physical therapy has been suggested as well as him using a wheelchair to get around as well as possibly getting therapeutic shoes.
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https://www.seniorliving.org/care/
https://www.seniorliving.org/memory-care/
"Most memory care centers are specialized nursing homes or specialized areas of nursing homes. Assisted living communities increasingly have memory care divisions too. Memory care centers ensure that residents won't wander away; exits are carefully monitored. Employees and visiting specialists facilitate daily social events and potentially therapeutic activities."
https://www.seniorliving.org/nursing-homes/
"Nursing home residents typically are recovering from illness or injury, or need help managing chronic health issues such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or dementia. Many of the (skilled nursing) homes are equipped with oxygen tanks, dialysis machines and other medical equipment that isn't normally found at assisted living centers.
https://www.medicare.gov/sites/default/files/2019-10/NursingHomeChecklist.pdf This website is an comprehensive Nursing Home Checklist that you can use to determine whether the facility would be appropriate for your loved one.
After being hospitalized for a week, my Mom transferred to a Skilled Nursing Facility for Medicare Rehab Physical and Occupational Therapy and stayed in the wing when these type of residents were. Eventually Mom's PT and OT were discontinued because she refused to participate and Medicare refused to pay for her care once PT & OT ended. Mom continued to live in the same room. Her "classification" was changed from "Medicare Rehab" to "Private Pay/Semi-Private room".
When Mom began to wheel off of the "Rehab" nursing unit on to other nursing units (to look for my brother and myself), she was tranferred to the "Memory Care Unit" which had three (3) levels of care. Mom was in the same building, just a different nursing "unit/area/floor/section". The main door to the Memory Care Unit would close and lock if a resident wearing a "Wandering" sensor (or their wheelchair had a "Wandering" sensor on it) got too close to the main door. The other two units were "Locked Units" that were locked at all times and could only be opened using a keypad. Our family was able to take Mom out of the Memory Care Unit to a "Family Dining Room" for family meals or visitation and she could attend activities supervised by the Activity Department staff.
My Mother-in-Law went directly to a Memory Care facility that specialized in caring for people with cognitive problems such as wandering, combativeness, dementia, Alzheimer's, memory problems, etc.
A good memory care place will be able to handle your loved one from whatever level of care they need. My mother's place has residents who are seemingly fine in terms of health with just some memory issues, all the way to those who are on hospice care, wheelchair- or bed-ridden. Some are unable to feed or bathe themselves, others can do it all.
For all of them, though, the focus is on mental stimulation rather than actual "nursing" of health issues.
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Memory care is a unit you would be in if your deficits due to dementia put you as a danger to yourself. You would require likely a locked facility, but you would not necessarily need skilled nursing care. You would need more careful attention and there would be more staff then a normal just plain old assisted living facility. I hope that is a beginning of an answer to your questions, anyway.
Skilled Nursing Facility is usually, most often, covered by medicare for some number of days (check with them) but Memory care is not unless patient is on medicaid and facility accepts medicaid.
Memory Care Facility will have people that have been diagnosed with some form of Dementia.
Skilled Nursing Facility is not always a locked unit.
Memory Care Facility will always be a locked wing or building (if the entire building is all Memory Care the building will be locked if the Memory Care is in a wing of a larger Facility only the Memory Care wing will have a coded door.)
Usually a Memory Care Facility will require that a resident when they first enter be able to walk, transfer from from one place to another. As they decline if equipment is needed they can use equipment to aid in transfers. A Nursing Home will "accept" residents from the first day that need equipment to aid in transfers.
The best way to determine what facility would be best would be to tour the facility you are thinking about and ask what the criteria is for each. An evaluation is normally done to determine if your loved one would be suited for MCF or SNF
the MCF where my LO is a resident the “powers that be” told us that because of “excessive “ falls he either had to have 24/7 sitters (at $20.00 per hour) or go to SNF. He has moderate dementia. Physical therapy has been suggested as well as him using a wheelchair to get around as well as possibly getting therapeutic shoes.