Georgia Memory Care Facilities

Georgia is in the southern United States and subsequently provides the same great value as the rest of the region. The southern U.S. is known for its cheap, affordable housing and Georgia is no different. The state is witnessing a rise in senior living, including more dementia care facilities being built throughout Georgia.

The state currently ranks within the Top 10 most affordable memory care facilities in the United States. Alzheimer’s care homes in Georgia rank ninth, just below Tennessee and above the southern states of South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas. The price paid compared to the quality service and number of amenities is hard to beat with Georgia dementia care facilities.

Detailed Cost of Alzheimer's and Dementia Care in Georgia

The average cost for a dementia care home in Georgia is $140 per day. The national average is $160 per day, designating Georgia’s Alzheimer’s care homes as significantly lower than the rest of the U.S., especially outside the southern United States.

The top ten percent of expensive Georgia dementia care homes are about $7,200 per month, while the bottom ten percent charge around $2,500 per month. When you factor in the median, most older adults pay approximately $4,200 per month, give or take.

Affordable Alzheimer’s care in Georgia can go for as little as $80 per month. It is nearly impossible to beat that daily rate in any other part of the country. Southern assisted living, nursing homes, and dementia care homes are notoriously cheap and this is prime example. It is very possible to find a quality Alzheimer’s care home in Georgia for under $140, as only a select few luxurious units help drive up the higher cost.

Some of the most expensive dementia care facilities in Georgia cost $200 to $240 per day. These figures are higher than the national average, but rarer than the high selection of cheap housing.

Atlanta is far and away the biggest city in Georgia with a population of over 420,000 residents. As a result, a ton of high quality and affordable Alzheimer’s care and dementia care facilities are available here.

Other major cities like Augusta (and the entire Richmond County area), Columbus, Savannah, Athens and Sandy Springs are also popular for dementia care. There are a variety of quality dementia care homes in more rural setting as well, where prices can dip to $80 to $90 per day.

Georgia Dementia Care - Amenities

Standard amenities in Georgia’s dementia care facilities include daily food prep and serving, regularly scheduled activities, assistance with daily functions and hygiene, and opportunities for friends and family visitations.

Extra measures are taken to keep residents suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s safe, protected, comfortable and happy. Since wandering and getting disoriented are common issues with dementia and Alzheimer’s, buildings are often designed to make the halls as non-confusing as possible.

The care includes a combination of group activities and personalized, one-on-one interactions. Life skills are incorporated to help with memory and keep the brain as active as possible. Staff make a point to get to know residents on a first name basis and learn about their individual personalities and specific needs.

Georgia’s Memory Care Admission Requirements

Georgia has outlined specific restrictions on who may be admitted to assisted living facilities and care homes including memory care facilities.

Older adults and individuals with:

• Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia
• Physical and developmental disabilities
• Mental health disorders
• AIDS
• Traumatic brain injuries
• A yearning to live in a memory care unit without having a probable conclusion of Alzheimer’s disease who renounced their right to live in a different kind of setting

These are the primary reasons why an individual may not be admitted:

• Has active tuberculosis
• Needs incessant nursing and medical care and services as determined by their physical examination
• Has a diagnosed behavioral condition that needs physical limitations and/or chemical restraints, confinement, and isolation
• Confined to the bed
• Needs care that is beyond what the facility can provide

Secured Memory Care Units in Georgia

Depending on the level of memory loss in your loved one, recommendations of putting them in secured memory care units might be suggested by the facility. Yes, all memory care divisions are secured because they have to promote the safety of their residents. It is required by the state of Georgia for facilities to have a reliable security system to ensure the well-being of their residents.

A higher level of security might be designated to portions of the facility where doors can only be accessed using security codes and secure ID swipes. The last thing that this memory care unit would want to deal with is to call a resident’s family informing them that their loved one is lost. Providing a higher level of security is a good and practical approach for everyone.

Memory Care Regulations in Georgia

Care Plan

In Georgia, the memory care facility is obligated to complete a resident’s evaluation within 2 days of the resident moving in. After that, a yearly assessment is required or after any significant changes in the senior’s health.

A licensed health professional needs to evaluate if the resident is capable of self-administering medication or if assistance is necessary. Other assessments like psychological, intellectual, and developmental impairments may be done when deemed necessary.

Residents are also free to get in touch with 3rd party health providers like certified home health agencies or mental health agencies if they feel that they can benefit from these additional amenities.

Memory care facilities in Georgia are required to document the results of the assessments following a care plan guideline and every resident’s file needs to be updated yearly. The facility is also mandated to review the care plan of their dementia residents quarterly, making adjustments as needed.

Medical Management

Support with self-administration and management of medicines must be done by a licensed registered nurse (RN) or a licensed practical nurse who is working under the supervision of a licensed doctor or RN. A substitute caregiver working for the residence may be allowed to administer these services too.

Facility

Georgia recommends and promotes apartment-style units for memory care so the seniors can live almost like when they are home. They can have solo or shared rooms and a minimum of one toilet and sink is required for every four residents. There should be at least one room for showering and bathing for every eight residents.

In line with the homelike set-up that Georgia’s memory care units are promoting, each facility should have at least one multipurpose room for dining and social activities with the outdoor spaces fully secured. A communication system should be available and set up to allow the staff to communicate with the rest of the team and also for easy access to emergency service workers.

Care Staff and Training

There should be enough specialized dementia care personnel for all the residents. Certified medical staff trained in CPR should always be on-site. The recommended lowest on-site, staff-to-resident proportion is 1:15 during waking hours and 1:25 during non-waking hours. The facility can add more as when necessary.

All dementia care staff needs to complete special training that covers the philosophy of care, dementia-specific care protocols, handling behavioral problems, better communication skills, and therapeutic activities specific to dementia patients.

Medicaid Regulation

Georgia Medicaid does not cover the room and board expenses but it offers CCSP and SOURCE waiver programs to help cover the cost of care in its memory care homes.

When Is Your Loved One Ready for Memory Care?

There’s more to dementia than the obvious memory loss. Beyond the lapses in memory are delusions, extreme behavioral and personality changes, confusion, and the feeling of losing a portion of yourself every second of every day. It is a scary and overwhelming feeling and experience for your senior loved one and to you as their family.

Families try to own their responsibilities and create a healthy and safe environment for their loved ones. Sometimes it works, but the reality is, dementia requires specialized care that will come from people outside your family. Admitting that you can no longer efficiently provide the much-needed specialized care to your senior may lead you to consider a memory care facility in the state of Georgia. Here are other indicators that might further trigger you that moving your loved one is the best for them.

1. A worry that never ends – you can worry too much about your dementia-stricken loved one, worry about yourself and the changes and adjustments caused by the sickness but the reality is, the worrying won’t ever stop as dementia progresses. Expect confusion, agitations, tears, and even violence. This is a new experience for you and your loved one and it’s scary. Worrying specifically about safety is a huge deal. It might be time to consider a safe environment for your senior with trained professionals who are familiar with the symptoms and can provide the structured and comprehensive help that is needed.
2. Signs of Depression – it is a natural feeling for a person suffering from memory loss and if left unattended, this can progress into loneliness and isolation. Memory care communities can arrest this feeling with engaging activities and social interactions. The actions are designed to be focused and enjoyable while at the same time alleviating the anxiety and worry that comes with dementia.
3. Long-Distance Caregiving – intermittent care will not work for dementia. Providing long-distance caregiving won’t be sufficient especially as dementia progresses. Your loved one’s needs would constantly increase and your continued physical presence will be required. Half-baked care and assistance won’t work so you might as well get the additional hands you need in memory homes that have around-the-clock personnel.

Questions to Ask Memory Care Communities in Georgia During a Tour

Visiting a memory care community is an experience unique to its own. As a family member deciding to transition a loved one from a familiar environment into an unfamiliar one, you only want what’s best for them, and a memory care facility tour can either make you more confident or second-guess your soon-to-be taken decision.

Each memory care residence in Georgia is unique, but here are some questions you can ask to help ease your worries and make you more confident with your decision.

Questions about the staff

• • Is your facility including the staff accredited?
  • Do you have any staff member/s who is certified dementia care managers (CDCMs)?
  • How do you handle physically violent residents or those who display upsetting behaviors?

Questions about safety

• • Is the whole community secured?
  • Is there a 24/7 nurse or physician working onsite?
  • What is the protocol for emergencies?

Questions about costs and policies

• • How often do you bring up-to-date families about the resident’s welfare?
  • How much is the monthly cost of care?
  • What is the discharge policy?

Questions about activities?

• • Can the care plan be shared to the family?
  • What are the calendars of activities?
  • Can outside resources be invited inside the facility?

Although these are helpful questions, sometimes you also have to go with your gut feeling based on your observations. Reviews and feedback on the memory care unit will also be a good source of information.

Memory Care and Georgia Assisted Living

Memory care units are specialized units in an assisted living community that help in providing memory care services and assistance to their residents with diagnoses of GA-2 probable Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia. Memory care facilities have rigid oversight and security systems. They also foster activities geared towards cognitive deficits that impact the gradual deterioration of memory, thinking, language, and impulse control.

An assisted living community is a personal care home that can have 25 or more residents and is licensed to give assisted living care to its residents. It is a set-up that settles housing, food, and other arrangements as necessary. Single assistance and supervision in doing essential activities of daily living are provided in these facilities. Activities that fall under the bucket of activities of daily living are but are not limited to: eating, going, and using the bathroom, bathing, ambulation, and providing transportation.