If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or another form of memory loss, you are not alone. The Alzheimer's Association reports that nearly 7 million Americans, most of them age 65 and older, are living with Alzheimer’s dementia – a number that’s growing fast. Plus, over 11 million unpaid caregivers provide them with an estimated 18.4 billion hours of care valued at almost $350 billion.

Often, a network of family members and friends must share a series of responsibilities to provide the support that their loved one requires throughout the day. Regardless of whether you live with the person, live nearby, or live far away, you know just how challenging and sensitive this situation can be. Watching the condition progress. Wondering what to expect. Worrying about their well-being. Trying to figure out when and how you can pitch in.

While every individual has different needs, you can apply the specialized memory care tips and the additional precautions below to ensure your loved one’s safety, comfort and happiness.

Create an Organized Daily Routine

People who become forgetful or confused often need extra assistance with even the most basic tasks. To minimize upset and maximize respect, add a sense of normalcy through consistent, easy-to-follow patterns. Work with your loved one on keeping a calendar of appointments and events and writing to-do lists. Implement a system for taking medications promptly and safely.

Schedule daily tasks like showers, getting dressed, and meals – as well as activities the person enjoys – for the same time each day. Gently tell the person what you are going to do but allow them to do as much as they can on their own. Loose-fitting clothing with no or simple-to-use closures will streamline the process. Installing an accessible shower/tub, a shower chair, a raised toilet, slip-resistant flooring, and grab bars will help prevent falls. Serve meals in the same familiar place and give the person plenty of time to finish them.

Stay Positive, Speak Calmly and Listen Closely

Expect changes in communication and behavior for people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Maybe their language abilities are affected, making it difficult to talk or find the right words. They may display anxiety, fear, anger, agitation, impatience, frustration and more. You, yourself, may share those emotional concerns, sometimes.

Remember that the disease is causing these changes – and there are things you can do to communicate better. Be reassuring. Show understanding. Enable your loved one to retain as much control and personal space as possible. Encourage long, two-way conversations. But, additionally, building in quiet time and engaging activities can be equally important for peace of mind.

Prioritize Good Nutrition, Exercise and Socialization Habits

Having a wholesome diet and an active lifestyle is particularly crucial – although it can also get tougher as the disease progresses and interest or initiative declines. That’s why it’s essential for you to help plan and get things started. Joining in, and including other people whenever you can, also provides vital social interactions that boost their health, happiness and longevity.

Ensure three nourishing meals and more per day by buying a variety of healthy foods, suited to their tastes and dietary needs, which give your loved one multiple meal options and are easy to prepare and clean up.

Exercise and wellness routines for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia should match their abilities and stamina. Besides the usual types of fitness programs, exercise can look like short walks, fun activities with movement, dancing to music, and even household chores, cooking or baking, and gardening.

Take Steps to Make Home a Safer Place

Perhaps you’re worried about the physical obstacles and threats that are lurking in your loved one’s home. By removing hazards and installing safety features, you can prevent injury – or worse – and enhance their independence. They should include:

• Ensuring wide obstacle-free paths, bright lighting, easy-to-grip handles, slip-resistant flooring and safer bathrooms.
• Adding handrails and safety measures to stairs that increase stability and visibility.
• Removing or locking up dangerous items, cleaning products and medications.
• Removing curtains and rugs with busy patterns that may confuse the person.
• Inserting safety plugs into unused electrical outlets.
• Door and window locks and a home security system designed for seniors with dementia.
• Adequate fire alarms and smoke detectors.

You’ll also want to obtain a wireless medical alert device with 24/7 monitoring and response for urgent situations. Create and implement an emergency preparedness plan that considers memory issues, mobility, hearing and vision impairments, and any other disabilities.

Plan for the Future – Today

It can be incredibly difficult and emotional to make healthcare decisions for someone who cannot do it themselves anymore. For that reason, it’s crucial to plan for these eventualities in advance, while your loved one can still be involved in the process – or at the very least, before the risks and worries keep rising, or sudden, unexpected changes occur. Factor in matters such as everyday care, ongoing medical care, legal and financial matters, insurance information, and more.

Explore uplifting Alzheimer’s and dementia support services and long-term options that deliver expert care around the clock, including senior living communities in your area. Cardinal Bay provides the best memory care communities in Texas and Oklahoma, where skilled, attentive teams ensure an enduring focus on total wellness. Residents thrive in a dynamic, relationship-centered environment that is fully tailored to their needs, featuring:

• A customized care plan that consults with and evaluates each resident, and then coordinates personalized support among their loved ones, medical team, and community staff. The goal is always enriching their physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual wellness.
• A purpose-built setting that prioritizes safety and security measures, minimizes hazards, and supports a senior’s changing mobility and continuing accessibility.
• Close supervision and onsite, personal help with daily living activities, like bathing, dressing, grooming, using the restroom, eating, and escorts around the grounds.
• Medical care and transportation to medical appointments.
• A medication management system to ensure residents take their prescriptions and treatments correctly and on schedule, avoiding dangerous medication mix-ups.
• Wander protection in the form of secured doors and medication storage, plus additional security and staff members monitoring the exits.
• Specialized memory care programs, social engagement, activities, brain health fitness, and behavioral support.
• An emphasis on nutrition, exercise, and opportunities for personal connections with caregivers, residents, and visitors.
• A suite of services that save you and your loved one from tiring, precarious, time-consuming chores and household maintenance.

If cognitive change is not noticeable but may be a potential concern, you can opt for a continuum of care. There, residents can move into independent living or assisted living now – and transition seamlessly into memory care as needs evolve – all in the same community.

Schedule a complimentary visit to meet Cardinal Bay’s team and thriving residents in person. Learn more by reading our free, valuable resources, dedicated to the seniors and their caregivers navigating this next chapter. Subscribe to our blog, plus access our eBook, Your Elementary Guide to Senior Living and Care Options in Texas and Oklahoma. Get your copy now!