Minnesota Memory Care Facilities

Minnesota is a beautiful state with really great, friendly people. As a result, many seniors decide to relocate to Minnesota in their retirement years. Along with great services in independent living communities and assisted living centers, Minnesota’s memory care facilities and assisted living homes are also in high demand. These facilities provide a great combination of caring, helpful staff, clean and comfortable rooms, nutritional meals, and several different amenities.

Memory care facilities in Minnesota are middle of the road in terms of price. They are neither expensive nor extremely inexpensive based on national averages. However, the categorization of affordability depends on location. If you consider the Minnesota part of the Midwest, then prices are higher than most of the surrounding areas. Yet if you align the state more with the northern west or west coast, Minnesota Alzheimer’s care homes and dementia care facilities are far more affordable.

Detailed Cost of Memory Care in Minnesota

Minnesota memory care homes sit right at the national average for Alzheimer’s care and dementia care pricing. With an average of $160 per day, or $4,800 per month, Minnesota memory care is very affordable, whether settling on an exclusive community for Alzheimer’s care or paying for a room or secured unit that is part of a bigger assisted living center or nursing home.

Affordable dementia care facilities in Minnesota operate through nursing homes, assisted living centers, as well as facilities that are 100 percent dedicated to Alzheimer’s treatment and service. Prices can dip below $100 per day, though most affordable Alzheimer’s care facilities range more in the $120 to $140 price range.

Expensive Minnesota Alzheimer’s care homes can exceed prices of $200 per day. Some of the more sought-after memory care communities, particularly in the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, have variable prices between $220 and $270 per day.

Cheaper costs for rooms in St. Paul and Minneapolis also exist in the metropolitan area that is home to more than three million people. The selection of high-quality dementia care facilities available throughout the state of Minnesota is most prominent here, though the communities of Rochester, Duluth, Bloomington, Plymouth and Maple Grove are also popular for assisted living. Even more rural towns exist throughout the large state if a slower, quieter style of living is desired.

Minnesota Dementia Care - Amenities

Minnesota memory care communities provide ample opportunity for social engagement and group activities. The best dementia care homes in Minnesota have a reputation for providing well-balanced, enjoyable activities on a daily basis for personal productivity as well as leisure. Visitation with friends and family is also encouraged, as successful treatment and management of devastating diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia involves social interaction.

Staff understands the complicated and sensitive nature of dementia and Alzheimer’s. They realize this disease is not only hard on the loved one, but also on friends and family interacting with a loved one who might suffer memory lapses as well as wander and get lost easily. Assisting with daily functions for a loved one like bathing, eating, and helping in and out of bed is physically and emotionally draining. Let quality staff at the best Minnesota memory care homes help you with treatment and care.

Admission Requirements to Memory Care Facilities in Minnesota

Memory care facilities in Minnesota are called housing with service establishments which provide long-term care for individuals who require 24-hour assistance, support and/or nursing. A potential resident must undergo a pre-admission screening to determine whether the facility has the ability to provide their required level of care.

Persons with Alzheimer’s or any other type of dementia must be accompanied by a family member who will inform the administrator of the patient’s stage of disease based on the evaluation of a professional health care provider.

These long-term care facilities specializing in dementia and Alzheimer’s care offer a variety of services, including meals, laundry, personal care assistance (bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting) and nursing care. The family member of a potential resident would be in the best position to evaluate the requirements of their loved one based on their needs and preferences.

Security in Minnesota Memory Care Units

Every memory care facility in Minnesota undergoes a survey performed by the state’s Department of Health to ensure that it complies with basic state and federal rules on housing and safety. The survey team includes a nurse, sanitarians, dietitians, and other disciplines as appropriate. They are all trained in methods for inspecting nursing homes.

For compliance with state rules, surveys are done every two years. For compliance with federal rules, surveys are annual. Most memory care facilities are required to comply with both.

The survey team tours the whole facility to review the services provided to residents and to check if safety measures are in place. They also observe the facility’s meal serving and medication administration methods. Meetings are also conducted with the administration and the staff.

Additionally, the survey team examines medical records of the residents and interviews them or their family members regarding the quality of the facility’s services.

Minnesota – Regulations for Memory Care Establishments

Minnesota requires housing with services establishments to meet requirements stated in the state’s statute covering such facilities. The framework outlines the services that must be offered, the providers allowed to offer the said services, and consumer protection and information. When these requirements are fulfilled, the Minnesota Department of Health will recognize and license an establishment as an assisted living facility.

Under Minnesota law, licensed facilities providing dementia or memory care include nursing facilities, housing with services establishments, home care agencies, and adult day services.

These residential facilities must demonstrate high quality capability in the following areas:
(1) resident satisfaction and quality of life, (2) clinical outcomes, (3) adequate direct care staffing, (4) retention of direct care staff, (5) use of temporary staff from external third party agencies, (6) proportion of beds in single dwelling units, and (7) findings from certification survey inspections.

Staffing and Training

The governing body of a licensed long-term care facility in Minnesota must appoint a licensed administrator with the full responsibility for the establishment’s operations according to state and federal laws and policies.

Under no circumstances will the administrator be allowed to leave the premises unless they can delegate authority to a staff member at least 21 years old and capable of carrying out emergency procedures. The administrator must also leave detailed information on how they can be contacted. It is strictly forbidden for the facility to be left without the supervision of a competent staff member.

In addition to the requirements mentioned above, the Disclosure of Special Care Statute expects licensed dementia or memory care facilities to provide consumers written information on the dementia care training of their staff. Directors must ensure that their staff members have received knowledge and training on Alzheimer’s disease and other related disorders, daily living assistance, problem solving with challenging behaviors, and communication skills.

When Should You Look for Memory Care in Minnesota?

Dementia is a health condition that encompasses different types of cognitive decline, with Alzheimer’s as the most common. This illness is incurable, fatal and degenerative, steadily causing impairment in memory, language, and visual, spatial and executive functions. In its early stages, an individual experiences disruption in daily activities. In the later stages, they completely lose judgment, speech, focus, and the ability to care for themselves.

According to a Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) report, 8.7% of adults in Minnesota aged 45 and above suffer from subjective cognitive decline. However, 55.7% of them have not consulted a health care professional, even as 38.6% admit that their memory problems are happening more often and/or getting worse.

Chronic illness such as arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, COPD, cancer, asthma and Alzheimer’s requires a team approach for patient care to effectively manage the disease. In Minnesota, many health plans and medical practitioners are now using this team model of care. It allows patients to receive the maximum medical care benefit.

This approach can be applied in the home setting during the early stages of Alzheimer’s of your loved one. However, you may find the need to place them in a memory care facility for the long-term during the later stages.

In order to assist family members in making this decision, the Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA) provides information and assistance through the Area Agencies on Aging. Pursuant to the state’s 2001 long-term care legislation, the MBA created the MinnesotaHelp.infoTM website. On this user-friendly site, you can search for caregiver and consumer decision tools related to Alzheimer’s and dementia.

What Should You Ask Minnesota Memory Care Communities During a Tour?

Family members who function as caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and dementia staying at home need all the help available in their community. While health and supportive services are present, most will discover that home care is no longer feasible as their loved one enters the disease’s later stages.

Making the transition from home to a memory care facility is a daunting task for family members who need to study all available options to determine the quality of care they provide. To address this need, the Minnesota Alzheimer’s Disease Working Group developed a Matrix that includes questions that family members can use to obtain consistent quality information from services providers.

Family members are encouraged to discuss palliative, hospice and end-of-life care with the directors of memory care facilities during the selection process, and while their loved one is still in the early stages of the disease. Using these questions as guide will equip both parties to plan for the future with full knowledge of the patient’s preferences. This not only prevents making hurried decisions but also allows everyone involved to follow the choices and respect the wishes of the afflicted person.

Another useful resource for family members looking for a memory care facility in Minnesota is the state’s online nursing home report card, arguably the most comprehensive one in the country. A user has the option to either view the results for a particular facility or to specify a location and choose the quality measures most important to them. Family members can do this to create a short list of facilities that meet their preferences before embarking on a tour of each one.

Available Programs for Memory Care in Minnesota

There are the following long-term care programs available in the state:

Home and Community-Based Services

Persons with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia may choose to stay at home under the care of a friend or family member and still receive quality support services. These include respite care, caregiver support and coaching, adult day health services, and escorted transportation.

The Health Care Home model involves the patient and the caregiver surrounded by health and long-term care providers, family members, and community partners. All parties closely coordinate and communicate among one another. This model has proven to produce equal health care among the elderly in ethnic, immigrant and tribal communities. It also entails lower costs and hospital admission/readmission rates.

The Communities for a Lifetime concept underscores features that enable communities to support all residents, regardless of age and/or ability. For those with Alzheimer’s, these include housing and transportation options, volunteer activities for social connection, and expanded amenities in existing infrastructure. With an aging population, more elderly with Alzheimer’s would need caregivers, particularly those living alone. These factors contribute to making the “community as caregiver” concept an essential and practical option.

Types of Memory Care Facilities in Minnesota

Although care homes in Minnesota are not specifically called memory care homes, dementia and Alzheimer's care can be received in two types of assisted living facilities: registered housing with services establishments, as well as nursing homes.

Memory Care Units in Minnesota Assisted Living Facilities

Registered housing with services establishments require a fixed monthly base fee which includes rent, board and a package of services. Through the Medicaid Elderly Waiver (EW) program, low-income and frail elderly can receive customized living services in these settings, including memory care. However, EW pays only for individualized services and not for rent.

Memory Care Units within Nursing Facilities

About 71% of residents in nursing facilities already exhibit cognitive impairment to some degree, and the odds of them having Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia is high. Thus, memory care units have become an important addition to nursing home facilities.

Alzheimer’s and dementia are now considered as a family disease. It not only affects the individual afflicted physically, but also the whole family emotionally, financially and spiritually. But with the wide array of options for long-term care in the State of Minnesota, families can be assured of long-term quality support and services.