Memory Care

What is memory care for seniors?

When someone you care about is experiencing the effects of memory loss, your one wish is to ensure they are safe and cared for in a place filled with kindness - a home designed to support their specific and evolving needs, where they are comfortable, engaged, and able to live their best possible life.

At Revera, “Memory Care” refers to all the supports our homes have in place to assist residents affected by diseases such as Alzheimer's and others that affect memory to continue living a life of purpose. We deliver best in class memory care through a multi-layered approach. Because every senior living with a memory loss is unique, many of our supports are also unique, designed specifically for each individual and enhanced by personal care services to ensure the resident is safe, comfortable, and engaged in their community.

Our staff are available 24 hours a day, each specially trained to care for residents who may have complex feelings of frustration, anxiety, or issues with communication due to changes in cognition. Our residents live in a secure environment, located in a dedicated section of our residences. A secure environment promotes safety and wellbeing while still allowing our individuals to be engaged in large group events and to interact and socialize outside of the secure space. Every Memory Care Retirement Home has been designed to focus on engaging our residents and helping them to thrive. Our calm, comfortable settings, are located close to our premier amenities, with fine dining, and active living programming at their fingertips to enhance every day-to-day interaction.

At Revera, we are proud to offer high-quality programs and options for our individuals living with Dementia and Cognitive Impairment within our Memory Care Neighbourhoods in our retirement homes.

"That is the day to day we have so much on our minds that we lose track of things. That’s typical forgetfulness. When you can recall later in the day what it was you were trying to remember, that’s normal. The difference between cognitive impairment and forgetfulness is that that recall isn’t there. And the difference between cognitive impairment and dementia, is that in dementia it becomes profound enough to interfere with our regular, daily activities."

Dr. Collins goes on to explain what dementia is:
"Dementia is not a disease, but a collection of symptoms that includes things like forgetfulness, misplacing things, difficulty completing tasks, trouble paying attention. The thing that separates it from normal memory loss is that it affects one’s ability to complete normal daily tasks like cooking, banking, shopping."

She talks about the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease:
"There are many types of dementia. The most common is Alzheimer’s disease. It accounts for about 70-80% of all dementias."

And speaks a bit about signs to look for, if you are concerned that a loved one might have dementia:
"Difficultly remembering new information like dates or events. Difficulty planning such as difficulty following a recipe or completing any task that has multiple steps. Trouble doing routine tasks either at work or at home - sometimes things get missed in one location or the other. Trouble doing something that someone has been doing for a long time, for example getting lost on a familiar route. Communication can also become affected. Someone might have trouble following conversations, or difficulty finishing a sentence, or searching for the right word. Another concern would be somebody who spends less time socializing or engaging in activities they once enjoyed."

Dr. Collins addresses how these warning signs evolve as the disease or dementia takes route:
"The same symptoms continue but they become progressively worse. There’s more memory impairment. In the early stages, short-term memory is lost while long-term memory is relatively well-preserved. As the disease progresses, long-term memory becomes affected as well. Difficulty recognizing familiar people and places becomes an issue. Difficulty remembering more daily activities, including things like bathing and dressing. There can also be changes in mood and behaviours - sometimes people become agitated, fearful, anxious, or paranoid. This can be difficult for families to deal with."