Should I move my dad out of assisted memory care and into nursing home

Cbiowa1212

We moved my dad into an assisted memory care facility over two years ago in a city 25 miles away from home. He seems content there and gets along well with the staff. Lately, we (his family) have been disappointed in some of the care he has received and feel he is not as safe as he once seemed to be. We are also concerned about a couple of the other male residents, who are younger and more mobile. One of them recently shoved my Dad, causing him to fall! Thankfully, he was not seriously injured. Dad is 84 years old and uses a walker. As his ALZ has progressed, his mobility has slowed considerably. We are considering transferring him to a nursing home with a good reputation about 30 miles away... but we are wondering how hard a move like that would be on Dad. Does anyone have experience with moving a LO from one place to another? What was your experience?

Quilting brings calm

Unfortunately you can’t just decide to put someone in a nursing home. They have to have medical needs that require skilled nursing care. Does he have those? Is the nursing home knowledgeable about dementia patients? What’s the cost of the nursing home vs the assisted living facility?

Emily 123

Hi,

Here you go: MC or Nsg home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cetf0Q566Hc

Since a person with dementia relies on sameness and routine to get through their day, most moves will be disorienting and you might see some new behaviors or progression after a move. Those may go away or, because the disease is always progressing, they may stay.

It takes the PWD a while to get settled because they can't imprint a memory of new places, people, or things. Surroundings will seem unfamiliar to them for a while, and they'll use a lot of their mental bandwidth to try to keep up. So there will be an adjustment period. For my mom, in stage 4 teetering into stage 5, it took 3 months until she seemed to have a routine when she went to an AL. YMMV. If your dad's an easy going guy he may handle a move easily. There's no set rule. If you're not happy with the care you should look around. My mom's supposedly dementia-focused AL had really gone downhill and we just moved her last week to MC at a new facility--could not be more pleased. She was started on Lexapro a few weeks ago, and I think that's helped her be less anxious during the move.

mommyandme (m&m)

Welcome to this place yet I’m sorry you’re on this dementia journey.

If your dad is involved with activities where he is now, the lack of them at the nursing home may be difficult. Depends on the facility if they’re dementia aware and trained. You’ll want to research each choice thoroughly.

LisaLH

I;m curious what you decided to do?

I asked about the same question a couple of days ago. My dad is in memory care but I'm thinking of moving him to a nursing home. Reasons are distance, which he would be just down the street and money. Unfortunately money becomes part of all the other factors. The good thing is the 2 nursing homes with in 10 minutes of me have decent reputations.