How Long Do Dementia Patients Live in Memory Care?

As you probably know, dementia is a difficult illness that impacts people in different ways and at varying rates. This means that for some people, it advances relatively quickly, whereas, for others, it advances slowly, over the course of several years. If one of your loved ones is suffering from dementia, it might be the right move to place them in a memory supervision facility.

However, if you don’t know anything about such facilities, you might be wondering how long they’ll have to stay there. To answer this question right away, it’ll depend on a wide array of factors and luckily, we’ll discuss them in our article below. Before we take a look at how long they may have to stay there, let’s first look at what this illness is and how it impairs individuals:

Dementia: Explained

The very first thing that you should know is that there is no cure for dementia. The disease pushes brain cells to die, which is something that can cause various cognitive difficulties – including issues with recollection and decreased reasoning – and since the brain is responsible for numerous different functions of the body when the cells die, the entire bodily system will ultimately fail. It’s a progressive illness, meaning that it’ll only be worse over a period of time.

According to different reports and statistics, dementia patients are expected to live approximately a decade with the illness, however, this is something that depends on different factors, thus, some people might end up living for over two decades from the initial diagnosis. People with dementia can live in their houses, but only if they have appropriate and around-the-clock care, and if not, they’ll have to stay in a community where they’ll have the supervision they require.

How Long Will They Live in Such a Community?

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, it’ll depend. In most cases, it’s long-term, however, there are various aspects that can influence the length. Generally speaking, the length of stay in a community is anywhere from 2 to 4 years, but this time can vary, hence, someone might end up staying in such communities for several months to over a decade. Nonetheless, these facilities are incredibly beneficial for everyone involved.

These specialized communities have highly professional and skilled staff, as well as the resources they require for keeping your family member comfortable, healthy, and more importantly, safe at all times. In most cases, people living in these facilities are more joyful and active than they might ever be if they remained at their house, mostly because the staff will know how to support them properly, thus, making them happy.

What Are The Factors That Can Influence The Length?

1. The Sort of Illness

Dementia is unfortunately the number one type of cognitive illness that people in these facilities have, however, it does have several classes including CJD and Alzheimer’s. Every class has its own pace of progression. For instance, individuals diagnosed with CJD will have less than 12 months from when they’re diagnosed to when they’ll pass away, meaning that the illness will advance rapidly, thus, they won’t need to stay in such a facility for long.

But, if you take a look at the type known as Alzheimer’s, they might end up living in the facility for a few years. In fact, individuals suffering from this type of dementia can live their entire life in a support community, meaning that they could stay anywhere from 10 years to over 20, but this will entirely depend on the progression of the disease. Depending on the kind of illness, you can get an idea of how lengthy your loved one will have to remain in such a society.

2. The Person’s Overall Health

An individual’s general health will also affect how long they’ll live in these supporting settings. What does this mean? Well, if a person is generally healthy, they could stay in their own house for longer, however, if not, they may be better in a facility such as graceseniorcommunity.com that offers memory care in Boise. Additionally, people who suffer from other chronic conditions might live longer in such communities, thus, the length can increase.

3. The Relatives Have a Say as Well

Memory care is, perhaps, the most suitable option for individuals where illness progressed rapidly, however, it isn’t the only thing families can choose. Some families opt for hiring a caretaker that’ll come to their residences, and this service can affect how long they’ll remain in a supporting community later on. This means that some families could pick to oversee their loved ones at home – with the aid of a caregiver – before placing them in such a facility.

However, other families might not have the resources for hiring a personal caregiver or they might not want their children to look at the progression of the illness, which is why they opt for placing their family members in memory care communities. Hence, the length of stay can also be influenced by the family’s preferences, as well as how much time they could spend taking care of their family member without the help of a professional.

4. The Availability of Communities

Lastly, one of the factors that’ll influence the length of stay is also the availability of memory care communities. What does this mean? Well, for starters, people suffering from dementia might end up choosing to go to a facility by themselves or their family might determine the right time for doing so. However, they’ll most likely opt for a society that suits their conditions and requirements best.

If the society they want isn’t available right away – meaning that there might not be enough space for another resident – they could opt for extending the services they receive at home until there is an available space for them. Also, some cities might not have such communities, hence, the family might opt for moving their family member to a different location so that they can obtain the supervision they require, but this might take a bit more time since it’ll prompt a lot of planning.

Conclusion

As you were able to learn, there is a wide range of factors that’ll affect how long a person will remain in a memory supervision neighbourhood. Nonetheless, such places are better for individuals, mostly because they’ll support all the requirements they have, meaning that the person suffering from dementia will be more comfortable and functional, and safer there than they would at their house.

Since you’re now well aware of everything revolving around memory care, you might not want to spend any more of your time reading articles similar to this one. Instead, you should browse our guide one more time and if you’ve determined that memory care is the best approach to helping your loved one with dementia, start looking for a community that’ll suit your needs.