New Jersey Memory Care Facilities

Every state in the U.S. is number one to something and for memory care facilities in New Jersey, they unfortunately rank number one in being the most expensive. The old analogy that you get what you pay for is evident with New Jersey dementia care.

The very best service, rooms, amenities and healthcare is offered here, making New Jersey Alzheimer’s care facilities and dementia care homes arguably the most sought after in the United States. Your loved one could live and receive treatment for the awful effects of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia elsewhere, yet New Jersey is quite possibly the best for success rates and terrific testimonies.

Detailed Cost of Memory Care in New Jersey

New Jersey dementia care facilities are number one in the country for being the most expensive based on average monthly cost. A typical room at a New Jersey memory care community costs $200 per day, or nearly $6,000 per month. For a projected yearly cost, families will spend on average around $72,000.

The numbers are far higher than the national average of $160 per day, or $4,800 per month and $57,600 per year. Again, the inflated average rates are based on supply and demand, as New Jersey dementia care homes are in extreme demand, with some of highest rated care facilities having long waiting lists just to get in.

There are a few affordable options for memory care in New Jersey. In some of the less urban cities and towns in the state, there are reports of dementia care homes that reach prices as low as $120 per day. Some affordable facilities range between $140 and $160 per day.

Otherwise, expect to spend much more like $180 to $200 per day. It is also not out of the question to discover some of the most expensive Alzheimer’s care facilities in New Jersey reaching prices of $300 or more per day. The highest cost reported indicates daily rates of as much as $340 per day.

Compared to the rest of New England, New Jersey dementia care facilities are slightly higher than Connecticut (approximately $5,943 per month), Massachusetts (approximately $5,942 per month) and New York (approximately $5,927 per month). New Hampshire and Maryland, which rank fifth and sixth respectively in the nation, are even cheaper yet are still higher than the national average.

New Jersey Dementia Care - Amenities

New Jersey memory care facilities feature the very best in amenities. Along with standard services like assistance with daily functions (transferring out of and into a bed, bathing, going to the bathroom, etc.), the homes also provide clean rooms with added privacy and comfort, fresh and well-balanced daily meals, extended visitation hours for friends and family, private seating areas, opportunities for gardening and more.

Some of the most reputable, more expensive Alzheimer’s care homes in NJ also provide advanced amenities like an in-house beauty salon, barber shop, chapel or arts and crafts day-use area. Staff does their best to keep cognitive abilities for residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia as strong as possible, featuring a variety of personal productivity activities along with opportunities for personal leisure.

Admission Requirements to Memory Care Facilities in New Jersey

The State of New Jersey requires a potential resident to present assessments from their health care practitioner and/or regular caregivers to the memory care facility they have selected. These documents must state that they are appropriate for the level of care provided by the facility, and should outline their nursing needs, routines and preferences. The potential resident must submit these requirements within 30 days prior to admission.

Before admission, the administrator must interview the potential resident with an orientation to the establishment’s policies, fees, services, business hours, resident rights, and criteria on admission and discharge. In addition, they must provide an admission agreement form detailing the public programs or benefits the facility accepts and/or delivers, retention policies, and any applicable waivers.

Memory care facilities in New Jersey cannot admit individuals without capabilities to respond to their environment, express volition, interact, or perform independent activity. Persons in persistent vegetative state must not be placed in any assisted living facility. Both assisted living residences (ALRs) and comprehensive personal care homes (CPCHs) may admit terminally ill individuals if adequate caregiving support is not present or possible in their home.

Security in New Jersey Memory Care Units

New Jersey memory care facilities may not admit or retain individuals who do not have the ability to evacuate according to the State Fire Code. Residences may admit those requiring mechanical assistance to transfer if the facility has staff with appropriate training. Persons who need 24-hour licensed nursing care and/or monitoring for a maximum of 20 days, or who are receiving hospice care, may be admitted as well.

Assisted Living Residences usually offer apartment-style dwelling units that come with a private bathroom, a galley, and an entrance door that can be locked. Each unit may house a maximum of two persons. CPCHs must provide single- and double-occupancy units with a lockable entrance door, but private baths and kitchenettes are not required.

Requirements for ALPs apartments in subsidized housing projects are specified by the building code.

New Jersey – Regulations for Memory Care Establishments

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services issues licenses to three types of assisted living facilities that could offer memory care:

Assisted Living Residence (ALR) - Purpose-built residence with apartment-style dwelling units including a kitchenette.

Comprehensive Personal Care Home (CPCH) - Converted residential boarding homes which may or may not adhere to new building code requirements. Only facilities licensed before December 1993 can convert to CPCHs with bedrooms in place of apartment-style units.

Assisted Living Program (ALP) - Service agency providing services to residents in publicly subsidized housing.

New Jersey also approves Adult Foster Care homes for a maximum of three persons who need daily living assistance due to age or physical disability. Licensed caregivers provide services appropriate to individual needs. Sponsor agencies which operate the adult family care program oversee the recruitment, assessment and pairing of residents with caregivers. They also train caregivers, develop care plans for residents, assess each resident’s health status and care plan implementation regularly, and provide care management.

Facilities advertised as having an Alzheimer’s unit must make the following information available to staff, residents, and the public: (1) program policies and procedures, admission and discharge criteria, individuals whose needs the facility cannot meet based on a registered nurse’s assessment; (2) number of staff, both licensed and unlicensed, providing direct care to residents; (3) specialized activities designed for residents with dementia; and (4) safety protocols and security monitoring system specific to residents with dementia.

Memory care facilities in the state of New Jersey are required to provide or arrange for assistance for the following services: personal and health care; nursing, pharmacy, social work; activities and recreation; transportation; supervision and assistance for self-administration of medications; administration of medications by trained and supervised staff; and contracts between the facility and third-party service providers.

Inspection and Monitoring

Before licensure, the licensing agency inspects ALRs and CPCHs. The process is repeated every two years, and at any time the agency finds it necessary.

Medication Administration

Memory care facilities in New Jersey may supervise and assist residents with self-administration of medications as well as administer medications by staff trained and supervised by their RN or licensed pharmacist. Under the delegation of an RN, the following certified staff are allowed to administer medications to residents: nurse aides and home health aides. A staff member with equivalent training approved by the state’s Health Department and who has completed a medication aide course and passed a certifying exam can also administer medication under supervision.

Food Service

Memory care facilities in New Jersey must provide three meals, snacks and beverages per day based on the Food and Nutrition Board’s current recommended dietary allowances. A facility’s food service coordinator must be either a dietician or consult with a dietician who conducts assessments and reassessments of each resident’s nutritional needs according to their health plans.

The food service coordinator must adhere to the resident’s nutritional and therapeutic needs, cultural backgrounds, and personal preferences.

Staffing

Licensed NJ memory care facilities with 60 or more beds must have one full-time administrator or a designated alternate on-site at all times, or half-time for those with less than 60 beds. An RN must be available or on call 24/7. ALPs must ensure that at least one of their staff members or of the housing program is on-site 24/7.

Facilities must designate a pharmacist to supervise pharmaceutical services and provide consultation to the facility, physician, program staff and residents whenever necessary. Personal care assistants should be certified nurse aides or certified as homemaker-home health aides.

Care facilities must engage an ample number of professional as well as unlicensed staff trained to provide basic care, assistance and supervision to residents.

Training

Every three years, administrators are required to undergo at least 30 hours of continuing education on assisted living based on the recommendations of the Department of Health and Senior Services.

Before or upon hiring, each personal care aide (PCA) must undergo an orientation on assisted living concepts, emergency protocols, infection control and prevention, resident rights, abuse and neglect, pain management, and the care of residents with physical impairment, Alzheimer’s and other dementia. Every two years, PCAs must complete 20 hours of continuing education, while medication aides must complete 10 hours on medication administration and elderly drug use.

Services for Individuals with Dementia

Memory care homes may create programs to provide customized care based on the assessment of cognitive and functional abilities of each resident with dementia. All licensed and unlicensed staff providing direct care to such residents must be trained in specialized care for persons with dementia.

When Is Your Loved One Ready for Memory Care?

According to a recent report of by the BRFSS (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System), one in ten adults in New Jersey, aged 45 and above are experiencing some form of cognitive decline, such as confusion and memory loss. However, almost 60% of them have not consulted a health care professional about their condition.

Almost half of these adults admitted that these problems have interfered with their work or social activities and have caused them to give up daily normal activities or to require assistance to perform those activities. One third of these adults live alone.

Furthermore, more than 80% of these individuals also suffer from one or more than one chronic condition like asthma, arthritis, cancer, COPD, cancer, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, and all other forms of dementia, directly affect a person’s cognitive skills, including judgment, attention span and reaction time. This translates to increased risk for accidents, getting lost, serious injury, and even accidental death.

If your loved one has been diagnosed with dementia, and you are not able to provide round-the-clock care for them at home, you should consider placing them in a memory care facility. In New Jersey, residences offering long-term care are more than capable of keeping them safe as well as ensuring they maintain quality of life despite their illness.

Questions to Ask NJ Memory Care Communities During a Tour

Before transitioning your loved one from home care to residential care, it is imperative to conduct an extensive research on the available options in New Jersey which can address their particular needs and preferences. The search may be done online, or you could call their offices.

You should list at least five potential residences and visit each one. Inspect the buildings and the grounds, talk with the administrators and staff, and interview the residents and their families. Review the information in this article and use it as a guide when asking questions to ensure that your selected facility complies with all the regulations of the State of New Jersey.

Memory Care vs Assisted Living in New Jersey

In New Jersey, assisted living is defined as a coordinated system of personal and health support and services provided 24/7 in a home-like environment. This arrangement assures residents of self-direction, and more importantly, participation in decisions with dignity, privacy, independence and individuality.

Assisted living residences in the state are licensed to offer apartment-style housing and common dining for at least four adults. Dwelling units comprise of one unfurnished room with a private bathroom, kitchenette, and a lockable entrance door.

Comprehensive personal care homes are licensed facilities which provide room, board and assisted living services to four or more adults. Each unit houses a maximum of two residents and is equipped with a lockable entrance door.

New Jersey’s assisted living programs either provide or arrange for the provision of meals and assisted living services to tenants of a publicly subsidized housing. These facilities may also provide staffing and other related services to licensed ALRs and CPCHs according to appropriate standards.

For family members of individuals with dementia, it may be difficult to transition their loved one from the home to a long-term residential care. However, it is important to keep in mind that this disease is degenerative, progressive and fatal. Caring for a loved one with dementia within the confines of the home may be detrimental to the family members’ physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.