Assisted Living vs. Memory Care – What’s the Difference?

When looking at care options for your senior loved one, you’ll come across many different services and options, including assisted living and memory care. Here’s some insight into what these are all about, from our team in Gloucester County, NJ.

What is assisted living? 

This type of residential community often consists of apartments and communal buildings/spaces that provide daily assistance to residents who need some help to continue living by themselves. The best assisted living communities actively promote independence, giving seniors the right level of support for them to actively engage in community life.

This type of support includes assistance with chores and meal preparation, as well as transport, dressing, bathing, and medication management. There are also skilled medical staff attached to the facility who provide medical or nursing support as and when it is required.

What is memory care? 

Memory care, a service that some assisted living communities offer, focuses on residents with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other neurological conditions that affect memory and thinking function. As these diseases progress, residents require additional, specific support to ensure a good quality of life. Memory care professionals not only work with residents to provide support and monitor your loved one, but also offer therapies and programs to help fight the progress of the condition.

This highly skilled assistance level is not provided by all assisted living facilities — only those with the resources and training required to do so. If your loved one has a condition affecting his or her memory, it’s important to speak to assisted living providers about the kind of support they can provide your loved one.

An assisted living community with professional memory care services 

Pitman is an assisted living community in Gloucester County, NJ, offering high quality assisted living services in a comfortable, well-supported and beautiful environment. As part of the United Methodist Communities network, we also offer rehabilitation, access to therapists, hospice, respite and memory care and support services. We welcome seniors of all faith backgrounds.

To find out more about our assisted living community, please visit our website at https://umcommunities.org/pitman/. Contact us today or book a personal tour.