Memory Care Facilities in Delaware

Delaware is a small state in the northeastern part of the United States that is treated to the same outstanding healthcare and memory care as the rest of New England, but at far cheaper average monthly costs. The state of less than one million residents may lack some of the expanded selection and variety for dementia care compared to other neighboring states, but overall the value is exceptional.

Memory Care in Delaware - Cheapest & Most Expensive Places

Delaware dementia care homes are significantly more affordable than the neighboring states of Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Being the second smallest and sixth least populated state in the U.S., Delaware does have a smaller selection of memory care but it’s hard to beat these northeastern U.S. prices.

Memory Care in Delaware Costs of Cities based on Monthly Average Median

1. Dover, DE                         $4,530
2. Newark, DE                      $4,965
3. Wilmington, DE                 $5,210         
4. Hockessin, DE                  $5,405

The Cost of Alzheimer’s Care in Each County of Delaware based on Monthly Average Median

1. Kent County                      $4,520                   
2. New Castle County            $5,095

Delaware Dementia & Alzheimer’s Care - Services

While Delaware may have some long winters, for the other three seasons of the year the weather is quite nice and fittingly dementia trained caregivers like to take advantage of the fantastic scenery by providing both indoor and outdoor services. The grounds around many of the top Alzheimer’s care homes in Delaware are flawless, and some even provide a community garden for residents to interact with.

Inside the facilities, rooms are kept very clean and residents are encouraged to make the place as cozy as possible. New residents often bring in some smaller furnishings as well as mementos from home, and friends and family are encouraged to stop by and visit often.

In addition to the outdoor activities, staff understands that light physical exercise can also promote a healthy brain. As a result, personal productivity tasks like writing a letter, playing a card game, or putting together a puzzle may be combined with light group exercise or dancing. Some of the premiere Delaware dementia care facilities even invite guest speakers and other activities to help keep cognitive abilities strong.

First and foremost, memory care is designed to provide 24/7 monitoring for loved ones who also generally need help with daily functions in some regard. Staff can assist residents with getting in and out of bed, using the restroom, bathing, getting dressed, stylish hair and other daily functions.

Delaware Alzheimer’s care facilities make it a point not to discriminate against any race or religion. These dementia care centers ultimately believe that a variety of people with different mindsets and beliefs can make for a vibrant, diverse culture and so all religions are encouraged to become new residents. What’s more is many of the top facilities also provide a daily or weekly space reserved specifically for religious services.

Staff understands that families care about a loved one more than anything, and since they likely can’t be there every day for them, the staff helps communicate and transmit any information about the family member, such as a drastic change in behavior or attitude of late.

Delaware Memory Care Regulations

Delaware has a number of regulations that apply to memory care facilities. Here is an overview of the requirements that these facilities must follow to operate in the state.

Licensing

Memory care is regulated as a form of assisted living. Any facility offering assisted living services in Delaware must be licensed by the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Long Term Care Residents Protection.

To check on the current status of an assisted living facility to see if it’s licensed, you can use the DELPROS database search tool. All facilities are surveyed annually and are subject to random unannounced inspections when they face investigations about mistreatment, neglect, or abuse.

General Regulations

In Delaware, all applicants will get resident agreements before they sign a contract to enter an assisted living facility as a resident. Each resident agreement will include:

• Statement of charges
• Services included in facility charges
• Optional services available for an additional fee
• Payment, billing, and refund policies
• Specifics about who is responsible for arranging additional services
• Resident rights and obligations
• Process for filing complaints
• Living area rules and expectations
• Accommodation modification procedures
• Transfer procedures
• Descriptions of security measures at the facility
• Policies for leaving the facility temporarily
• Emergency response policies
• Discharge policies
• Facility obligations

This statement must be made available before a contract is signed so a potential resident has time to read, understand, and acknowledge the policies of the facility and their rights before entering into an agreement with them.

Along with the resident agreement, all memory care facilities must also make public disclosures about how the facility is run and their financial policies. This disclosure has to include:

• Philosophy of resident care
• Number of residents
• Admission process
• Discharge process
• Care implementation plan and process
• Staffing policies
• Descriptions of the physical facility environment
• Activities available to residents
• Role of family members in resident care
• Food and drink policies
• Procedures for management of wandering
• Financial requirements and policies
• Psychosocial services available

All disclosures are open to the general public to allow potential residents and their families to be well-informed while choosing a facility.

Facilities that are licensed as memory care facilities must offer a basic range of services to residents, including laundry, housekeeping, assistance with daily living activities, social interactions, leisure activities, emergency transport arrangement, and access to healthcare when needed.

Part of the facility’s responsibilities to each resident is to create an individual service plan. This is a plan created by a registered nurse, working with the resident and their family, that details the residents’ needs and what the facility will do to meet those needs. Each service plan will be paired with a risk agreement. This is an agreement that residents sign that details the actions the resident and the facility agree on to balance risk and independence.

Medication Regulations

Residents in Delaware’s memory care facilities can get assistance in managing and administering their medications. Residents may:

• Self-administer medications
• Be assisted in self-administering medications by certified staff members
• Have full assistance administering medications by certified staff members

All facilities need to have their medication policies written out and available for residents to read and understand. If a resident is going to self-administer their medications, an RN will need to assess them after they’ve resided at the facility for 30 days to ensure their cognitive ability matches initial assessments, that medications are being stored and used properly, and to check for any side effects that are present from using the medication.

Family members may assist residents with taking medication, but this arrangement should be noted ahead of time on the service agreement with the facility.

Facility Regulations

Residents can live in apartment-style accommodation or other accommodation types. There can be no more than 2 residents sharing a room, with at least 1 bathroom per 4 residents. All residents should be able to access basic food preparation equipment, such as a microwave, stove oven, fridge, and sink. These can be in their individual unit or in an easily accessible common space.

Staffing Regulations

There are no staff ratios required by the state of Delaware. However, every memory care facility is required to maintain enough staff to consistently provide the level of service agreed on between the facility and their residents. They also have to employ qualified personnel for specific positions, including:

• A director of the facility
• Resident assistants for direct care of residents
• A full-time nursing home administrator (if 25 or more beds are in the facility)
• A part-time nursing home administrator (if 5-24 beds are in the facility)
• A full-time house manager (if 4 or fewer beds are in the facility)
• A registered nurse (RN) as the director of nursing

At all times, there should be a staff member on site who is qualified to help administer medication to residents. There must also be a staff member on site who is trained in CPR, first aid, and the Heimlich maneuver, as well as someone familiar with the emergency policies in place at the facility. These requirements apply 24 hours a day, not just during daytime hours.

Any staff members who will be assisting residents to administer their medications must be certified through a course that’s approved by the Board of Nursing in Delaware. They can provide assistance by opening medication, holding medication containers, separating the correct dose based on the directions on the original container, documenting medication taken, and helping residents to take medications. Assistance does not include administering medication via a syringe.

Resident assistants must be trained as part of their orientation, including in basic first aid, job responsibilities, physical and psychosocial needs of residents, resident rights, and more. Every year, resident assistants must receive a minimum of 12 hours of additional training relevant to the job, including dementia care training.

Delaware Medicaid Memory Care Programs

There are no specific waiver programs or coverage plans for memory care under Medicaid in Delaware. However, there is a waiver program that could be used to pay for some costs related to memory care, even if not for the care itself.

Delaware’s Diamond State Health Plan 1115 Demonstration Waiver

The Delaware Diamond State Health Plan 1115 Medicaid waiver can be used to help with personal care, cognitive services, community transition services, transportation services, and other similar costs. These are services that residents may need alongside their room and board, lowering the overall cost of care.

Room and board in an assisted living facility in Delaware are not eligible to be paid by this waiver.

Eligibility for Medicaid in Delaware

Eligibility criteria for Medicaid in Delaware depends on the age, residency, and income levels of potential recipients. To apply, applicants must be 65 years or older and be in need of nursing home care. They must be legal US residents and residents of the state of Delaware. Income requirements for applicants include:

• No more than $25,230 per year for individuals
• No more than $50,460 per couple when both are applying
• Countable assets of no more than $2,000 for individuals
• Countable assets of no more than $3,000 for couples when both are applying
• For couples where only one spouse is applying, the other cannot have more than $137,400 in assets

Admissions Requirements for Memory Care in Delaware

Admission is open to most applicants. However, there are restrictions on admission of residents who have medical conditions. In general, residents cannot be admitted if they have any condition, either physical or mental, that:

• Requires continuous nursing care
• Is chronic and unstable
• Renders the patient bedridden for 14+ days
• Causes the patient to become a threat to other or themselves
• Requires specialty medical treatment
• Causes excessive wandering beyond what the facility can manage
• Requires intravenous medication

Residents with stage 3 or 4 bedsores or an unstable tracheotomy also cannot be admitted. Unlike nursing homes, assisted living facilities are not equipped nor licensed to provide significant medical care to residents. Anyone who requires regular care from a medical provider is unlikely to be eligible for admission to a memory care facility, unless that care can be provided by third parties and does not cause danger to staff or other residents.

Under some circumstances, patients may receive care for a condition for up to 90 days while remaining a resident. Residents receiving hospice care from a licensed hospice program are exempt from most of these restrictions and may be allowed to remain residents rather than being discharged.

Security Measures in Delaware Memory Care Facilities

Protecting your loved one with memory issues is essential to helping them live and thrive, despite their difficulties. How can you be sure that a Delaware memory care facility is the safest place for your loved one?

Here are 3 things to consider that can give you some assurance.

1. Wander Prevention

One of the biggest risks to people with memory impairment is wandering. If someone goes outside on their own, they can forget where they were going or forget their way home. To help with this, many memory care facilities in Delaware are equipped with egress alert systems that allow staff to know when people are leaving the facility.

These measures don’t necessarily prevent residents from leaving, but they will allow care staff to be aware of when someone is leaving so they can respond appropriately. Memory care facilities are required to have a safe outdoor space for residents to enjoy. It should be freely accessible to residents, allowing them to get the benefits of being outdoors without the risk of wandering and getting lost.

2. Facility Reporting

All Delaware memory care facilities are regulated by the state. They’re required to attain a license from the state and maintain the standards set by the licensing body at all times. Each year, the license must be renewed, but facilities can be reported to the authority at any time if there are concerns from residents or family members of residents.

Reports of neglect, abuse, or mistreatment at a memory care facility can trigger a random, unannounced inspection of the facility. In this way, residents and family members can keep an eye on the facility and report when things are not going on as they should.

3. 24-hour Professional Care

Memory care patients often need assistance with personal activities throughout the day. Memory care facilities in Delaware offer professional care 24 hours a day to address the needs of residents as they pop up. This keeps residents safer by ensuring there’s always someone there to help when they need it.

Common Questions About Memory Care in Delaware