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Louisiana is appealing to seniors. Located in the United States in the middle-southern region of the United States where a fair number of people live in the major metropolitan area of New Orleans, much of the state is much more rural and secluded. For those seniors seeking a quieter style of living in a caring, exclusive community to seniors, the state is a great place to consider with high quality Louisiana memory care facilities.

Memory Care in Louisiana - Cheapest & Most Expensive Places

Louisiana dementia care homes are some of the cheapest in the nation in terms of average monthly cost. In fact, only three other states in the U.S. (West Virginia, Arkansas, and New Mexico) rank higher in terms of affordability. As a result, the memory care in the Bayou is extremely cheap and affordable for practically every kind of family, regardless of budget.

The Top 5 Most Affordable Cities for Memory Care in Louisiana based on Monthly Average Median:

  1. Bastrop, LA - $3,665         
  2. Hammond, LA - $4,005
  3. New Iberia, LA - $4,085         
  4. West Monroe, LA - $4,120
  5. Alexandria, LA - $4,250

The Top 5 Most Expensive Cities for Dementia Care in Louisiana:

  1. Lake Charles, LA - $4,500
  2. Slidell, LA - $4,610         
  3. Lafayette, LA - $4,700
  4. Covington, LA - $4,710         
  5. Mandeville, LA - $4,960

The Top 5 Most Affordable Parishes in Louisiana for Memory Care based on Monthly Average Median:

  1. Morehouse Parish - $3,670
  2. Tangipahoa Parish - $4,010
  3. Iberia Parish - $4,090
  4. Ouachita Parish - $4,140
  5. Rapides Parish - $4,230

The Top 5 Most Expensive Parishes in Louisiana for Alzheimer’s Care:

  1. Saint Tammany Parish - $4,745
  2. Lafayette Parish - $4,700
  3. Calcasieu Parish - $4,500
  4. East Baton Rouge Parish - $4,490
  5. Lafourche Parish - $4,340

Louisiana Dementia & Alzheimer’s Care - Services

For those that have never lived in the south before, there is definitely a term and literal expression of “southern hospitality” where people tend to be extremely friendly and treat complete strangers like well-known family members. It’s a refreshing alternative compared to other states that don’t have the same reputation, and translates well to high quality elderly care.

Louisiana dementia care homes are rich in terms of daily meals and comfortable beds and extremely caring staff. Along with cooking up signature items on a daily or weekly basis, the vast majority of Alzheimer’s care homes in the state also provide more than one choice for each meal. Along with a dessert option, some gourmet kitchens may even make homemade soups and fresh salads on a daily basis, or even serve up local seafood.

The rooms provide a nice combination of size and coziness. The beds should be comfortable for the resident with quick and easy access to the bathroom. Generally, the bathrooms in the dementia care units are 100 percent handicap accessible, and staff can even assist further if the resident requires help using the bathroom or bathing.

Last but certainly not least, Alzheimer’s care homes in Louisiana are usually designed to provide a safe and secure premise for residents. Since wandering can be something that people with Alzheimer’s and dementia have a habit of doing, extra measures are usually taken to keep the perimeter secure. Also, due to the 24-hour monitoring staff is usually able to learn very quickly if a resident is unaccounted for.

Louisiana Memory Care Regulations

All residential care facilities in Louisiana are governed by a strict set of regulations. Memory care is usually provided through assisted living facilities in the state, which are a type of residential care facility.

Here is a summary of the main regulations that apply to memory care facilities in the state of Louisiana.

Licensing

Licenses for assisted living facilities are provided by the Health Standards Section of the Department of Health and Hospitals in Louisiana. These are considered Level 3 facilities under the licensing statutes. Regulations vary based on the license level the facility operates under.

Before a license is issued, a facility will undergo inspection and on-site surveys from the Bureau of Licensing. These are also part of the annual renewal process, where unannounced inspections must take place at least once annually.

General Regulations

All residents must be provided with a resident agreement that they will need to sign with the facility. This agreement should give details about the rules and policies at the facility, resident and facility responsibilities, rights of the resident, costs for all normal services and available additional services, payment policies, and resident discharge policies.

Facilities are not required to provide a specific set of services, but they must provide a reasonable level of daily life assistance, social activities, and 24/7 care for residents. Assisted living facilities are licensed to provide supportive services like personal care, 24-hour supervision, self-administration of medications, housekeeping, recreational activities, and assistance with personal needs at all times. They can provide some healthcare services involved in helping the resident remain in a less restrictive care environment. Whatever services the resident needs, the goal for the memory care unit is to give the resident as much autonomy in their care as possible, allowing them to control the support they receive.

While assisted living facilities don’t always provide medical services on their own, they must help residents arrange and plan for health assessments, monitoring, and care as needed. Assisted living facilities must offer the service of arranging transport for medical needs, personal care, and other activities.

Before admission into a facility, residents must go through an assessment to understand their needs, preferences, and care goals. This is part of the service planning process. With the knowledge from the assessment, the facility and resident will draw up an agreement about wat services the facility will provide, the frequency of service, and other details to lay out how the resident’s needs will be met. This agreement should also include the costs of the service as detailed in the plan.

As a resident’s needs evolve, the service plan must be revised to accommodate their updated service needs. Updates should be made at a minimum of once every quarter, but also when a resident’s needs change significantly between regular updates.

Facility Regulations

Residents are required to be given at minimum an apartment stye individual living unit with a bedroom room, private full bathroom that is ADA-compliant, dining/living space, in-unit storage space, and kitchen space equipped to prepare and store food. These units should have lockable doors and workable windows. All units need their own individual access to an emergency call system and controls for the HVAC system in their units. There should be a minimum of 1 telephone outlet in each unit.

Apartments can contain no more than two bedrooms. Each bedroom should be single occupancy. No resident can be compelled to live with a roommate. Both must mutually consent to the living situation, being roomed with a member of the same sex.

In apartments with a studio arrangement or a two-person bedroom, occupants must either be married, related, or live-in companions who are both consenting to live together. This consent should be documented in writing by both parties.

Staffing Regulations

Assisted living facilities have no required staffing ratios to maintain. The requirement is that they must always have an adequate level of qualified staff to care for residents’ needs as stated in the service plan. This is a requirement at all times for both scheduled needs and unplanned needs, even overnight.

At least one staff member should be awake and available on-site overnight. A staff member who is on call but off-site does not count toward this requirement.

All memory care facilities need to employ some specific staff members, including a facility director, designated activity and recreational staff, and direct care staff for resident care. Direct care staff can include a mix of social workers, personal care assistants, activities personnel, and others who provide direct services to residents as a regular part of their role. These required positions can be occupied by the same person in smaller facilities.

Facility directors are required to undergo at least 12 hours of education every year related to elder care and assisted living management. All other staff need to undergo annual training as well, going over material covered in orientation and initial training. Initial training will cover all the duties of the job, philosophies of care for elderly, and other important concepts for caring for residents. Orientation will include 5 days of supervised on the job training. Direct care staff must get certified in first aid within 30 days of being employed in an assisted living facility.

Specifically in memory care facilities, all direct care staff members must receive training on care for residents with memory impairments including dementia and Alzheimer’s. This involves a minimum of 8 hours of initial training and 8 hours of continuous education annually after hiring. Staff members who do not directly care for residents on a regular basis must still receive 4 hours of training during orientation and at least 2 hours of continuous training annually.

Louisiana Medicaid Memory Care Programs

Louisiana’s Medicaid program assists elderly state residents to cover some of the costs of medical care and personal care. Medicaid cannot be applied directly to memory care in any way, but there are some Medicaid waiver programs that can cover some of the costs associated with memory care, as well as other public financing options.

Long-Term Personal Care Services Program

This Medicaid waiver program can be applied to cover some costs of supporting services. The Long-Term Personal Care Services Program covers needs like personal care and grooming, housekeeping services, accompanying the recipient to medical appointments, and assistance with many daily living activities.

Community Choices Waiver

Another waiver program, the Community Choices Waiver is intended to assist seniors who develop disabilities as an adult, including memory impairments. This program can be applied to costs of care that help the recipient stay out of a nursing home for longer, even though they may require that level of service. Costs covered include regular skilled nursing care and therapies, monitoring systems, home modifications for accessibility, assistive technologies, personal care services, and more.

Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)

The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a public health program that replaces Medicaid coverage. This program replaces coverage from Medicaid and Medicare by coordinating and providing all medical care services for the recipient. Even though this is not a Medicaid program, you must still be eligible for Medicaid in order to apply.

While this program can pay for many of the costs of memory care, it’s not available throughout the entire state and will limit where the recipient can receive care. Check the availability in your area before applying for the PACE program.

Eligibility for Medicaid in Louisiana

To be eligible for Medicaid in Louisiana, an applicant must be:

  • At least 65 years of age
  • Legal US residents
  • Residents of Louisiana
  • In need of nursing home levels of care
  • Within the set income limits for the year

This year, the income limits for Medicaid in Louisiana were as follows:

  • Individual applicants must earn no more than $2,742 per month, with countable assets of no more than $2,000.
  • Married couples where both people are applying can earn no more than a combined total of $5,484, with combined countable assets of no more than $3,000.
  • For married couples where only one spouse is applying, the applicant spouse must earn no more than $2,742 per month with assets of no more than $2,000. The non-applicant spouse can have no more than $148,620 in assets.

Admissions Requirements for Memory Care in Louisiana

Residency is a memory care facility in Louisiana is always voluntary. Residents can apply to a facility based on the individual requirements they provide. State regulations only limit residency in cases where an individual needs specialized medical care for a period of 90 days or more. Individuals cannot be admitted into memory care if they have advanced care needs that cannot reasonably be handled by either the qualified staff at the facility or by a third party hired by the resident.

Residents who are already residing in a facility can be discharged if:

  • Their physician certifies that they will need continuous, specialized care for a period of 90 days or longer, and this care cannot be provided by the resident or their representative
  • They present an immediate risk to themselves or others around them
  • The family or third party contracted to provide supplemental care are neglecting the resident

Security Measures in Louisiana Memory Care Facilities

Memory care facilities in Louisiana take many steps to provide a safe, relaxed environment for residents. These are 3 of the ways memory care facilities work to remain secure for all residents.

Limiting Entry and Exit

Most memory care facilities are equipped with exit restriction systems on doors leading out of the living areas. Because of the risk of wandering and getting lost, these systems help to protect residents by alerting staff when anyone is leaving the facility. When staff members are aware of a resident’s desire to leave for any reason, proper arrangements can be made that will ensure their safety.

Providing a Controlled Environment

Memory care facilities must provide a higher level of safety and security for residents than general assisted living facilities. Because residents in need of memory care often require a higher level of service, there are requirements to keep staff members on duty at all times to address resident needs. Programs and activities offered to residents also tend to be more focused on individual interests and retaining life skills, which can give residents a greater sense of normalcy and autonomy in their own lives.

Regularly Training Staff in Proper Care

While assisted living facility staff are all trained in caring for the needs of senior residents, memory care staff are all required to receive regular training on how to care for those with memory impairments. This means that all direct care staff who regularly interact with residents are trained to handle the unique needs of memory care residents, providing a better and safer environment for both the staff and all the residents.

Common Questions About Memory Care in Louisiana

What is memory care and how does it differ from other senior care options?

Memory care is a specialized form of senior care designed for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. It provides tailored support and a secure environment to manage cognitive decline and ensure the safety and well-being of residents. Unlike other care options, memory care focuses on addressing the unique challenges and needs of those with memory impairment.

What types of activities are offered in Louisiana's memory care communities?

Memory care communities in Louisiana offer a range of activities tailored to residents with cognitive challenges. These activities may include reminiscence therapy, art therapy, music therapy, sensory stimulation, and supervised outings to local attractions such as the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans or the Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge.

Are memory care communities in Louisiana equipped with safety features?

Yes, memory care communities in Louisiana prioritize safety for residents with dementia. They are equipped with features such as secure entrances, alarmed doors, and monitored outdoor spaces to prevent wandering. These measures are in place to ensure residents' security and prevent them from getting lost or facing potential hazards.

How do memory care communities in Louisiana provide support for residents' cognitive needs?

Memory care communities in Louisiana have trained staff who are experienced in providing cognitive support. They engage residents in activities that promote mental stimulation and maintain cognitive abilities. Additionally, communities may use memory-enhancing technologies and therapies that help slow cognitive decline, fostering a sense of accomplishment and well-being.

What is the role of nutrition in memory care for Louisiana seniors?

In memory care communities in Louisiana, nutrition plays a crucial role in supporting residents' cognitive health. These communities offer balanced meals that emphasize brain-boosting foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Special attention is given to accommodating dietary restrictions and promoting hydration to maintain overall well-being.

Are Louisiana memory care communities engaged with the local community?

Yes, memory care communities in Louisiana often collaborate with the local community to engage residents in meaningful ways. They may participate in intergenerational programs with local schools, attend community events like Mardi Gras parades, and even offer volunteer opportunities for residents who are able to contribute, fostering a sense of connection and purpose.

Do memory care communities in Louisiana offer personalized care plans?

Yes, memory care communities in Louisiana create personalized care plans for each resident based on their individual needs, preferences, and cognitive abilities. These plans are regularly updated to ensure that residents receive appropriate care and support as their condition changes over time.

What qualifications and training do staff members have in Louisiana memory care communities?

Staff members in memory care communities in Louisiana undergo specialized training to effectively care for individuals with dementia. They are trained in techniques that promote communication, manage challenging behaviors, and provide emotional support. Many staff members have certifications related to dementia care and are committed to providing compassionate and knowledgeable assistance.

How can families stay involved in the care of their loved ones in Louisiana memory care communities?

Louisiana memory care communities encourage family involvement through regular communication, family support groups, and scheduled family visits. Families are considered valuable partners in the care journey, and their insights contribute to creating a holistic and person-centered care experience for their loved ones.

Are there Louisiana memory care communities that offer bilingual support for residents?

Yes, some memory care communities in Louisiana recognize the diverse linguistic needs of residents and offer bilingual support. This ensures effective communication and engagement for residents who may be more comfortable in languages other than English, enhancing their overall well-being and quality of life.

Do Louisiana memory care communities offer respite care services?

Yes, many memory care communities in Louisiana provide respite care services that offer temporary relief for caregivers. Whether for a few hours or a few days, respite care allows caregivers to take a break while ensuring their loved ones receive quality care and support in a safe and nurturing environment.

How do Louisiana memory care communities handle medical emergencies?

Memory care communities in Louisiana are equipped to handle medical emergencies. They have trained staff who can quickly assess situations, administer first aid, and contact medical professionals if needed. Additionally, these communities often have established protocols to ensure the safety and well-being of residents in urgent situations.

Are there financial assistance options available for Louisiana memory care communities?

Yes, Louisiana offers various financial assistance options for memory care. These may include Medicaid programs, long-term care insurance, and veterans' benefits that can help offset the costs associated with memory care communities. It's advisable to explore available options and eligibility criteria.

Do Louisiana memory care communities promote social interaction among residents?

Absolutely, social interaction is a key focus in Louisiana memory care communities. These communities offer group activities, communal dining, and shared spaces that encourage residents to engage with one another. Social interaction not only fosters connections but also positively impacts residents' emotional well-being.

Are Louisiana memory care communities designed to create a familiar and comfortable environment?

Yes, memory care communities in Louisiana often incorporate familiar elements and layouts to provide a sense of comfort for residents with dementia. This might include using colors, furnishings, and decor that evoke memories of the past, creating a soothing and reassuring atmosphere.

How can Louisiana memory care communities help residents manage daily routines?

Louisiana memory care communities support residents in managing daily routines through structured schedules and visual cues. Staff members provide gentle reminders for activities such as meals, personal care, and engaging in activities, helping residents maintain a sense of predictability and comfort in their day-to-day lives.

Do Louisiana memory care communities offer spiritual or religious support?

Yes, many memory care communities in Louisiana recognize the importance of spiritual and religious well-being. They may offer on-site chaplaincy services, organized religious activities, and opportunities for residents to engage in prayer, reflection, or attend services according to their beliefs and preferences.

What is the role of family engagement in Louisiana memory care communities?

Family engagement is highly valued in Louisiana memory care communities. Families are encouraged to participate in care planning, share life stories, and provide insights that contribute to a holistic understanding of the resident's needs and preferences. Open communication between families and staff enhances the quality of care provided.

Are there specialized memory care programs for Louisiana veterans?

Yes, some memory care communities in Louisiana offer specialized programs for veterans. These programs may provide support for veterans dealing with memory loss and related challenges, while also offering connections to resources and benefits available to veterans and their families.

What kind of therapy services are available in Louisiana memory care communities?

Louisiana memory care communities offer various therapy services to enhance residents' well-being. This includes physical therapy to maintain mobility, occupational therapy to support daily activities, and speech therapy to address communication challenges. These therapies are tailored to residents' individual needs and goals.

SeniorGuidance.org provides comprehensive resources on various senior living options, including: assisted living facilities, senior living communities, nursing homes, independent living communities, continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) and all other long term senior care options, including memory care such as Alzheimer's or Dementia.

Additional senior living options in Louisiana:

Assisted Living in Louisiana Senior Apartments in Louisiana Nursing Homes in Louisiana

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