Tour questions · Memory care
Questions to bring on a memory care tour
Memory care is assisted living built for dementia: a secured unit, staff trained for it, a calmer routine. What matters most is who is on the unit at night, how a refusal or a hard evening is handled, and what would end the stay.
Also: Assisted living · Skilled nursing
CarePair, trycarepair.com/tours/questions/mc. Free for families. Bring a pen.
01 Staffing and nights
- How many residents does each aide cover on the memory care unit overnight?
- What dementia training do staff get, and how many hours before they work alone on the unit?
- Is a nurse on site around the clock, or on call after a certain hour?
- How long do memory care aides usually stay, and who covers when someone calls in?
- Do you use agency staff on the unit, and how often?
02 Care and medications
- How do you handle a resident who refuses medication, care, or food?
- What do you try for agitation before any medication is considered?
- Who decides on a change in medication, and how are we told?
- How is wandering or trying to leave handled, and how is the unit secured?
- How is a fall or a hospital trip handled, and who goes with them?
03 Money and what is not included
- What is the monthly rate for memory care, and what does it include?
- What is billed on top: incontinence care, two-person help, escorts, laundry?
- Is there a community fee, and is any of it refundable?
- How much did rates rise in each of the last three years?
- What happens when private funds run out? Is there a Medicaid path here?
- What is the notice period to leave, and is there a charge after a death?
04 Daily life
- What did residents on the unit do yesterday, and who led it?
- How do you handle the harder evenings, and what does sundowning look like here?
- Can we eat a meal on the unit today?
- Is there a secured outdoor space, and how often do residents use it?
- How do you keep a resident who does not want to join in from spending the day in a chair?
05 What triggers a move-out
- What behaviors or needs would mean my parent has to leave the unit?
- If nursing needs grow, can they stay, or would they move to a nursing home?
- Can hospice come in, and can someone stay through the end of life here?
- How much notice do you give, and who helps find the next place?
06 The things families wish they had asked
- Can we see the room that would be theirs, not the model?
- What did the last state inspection find, and what changed after it?
- What happens in the first two weeks, and how do you suggest we visit and call?
- How do you tell families about a change in condition, and how quickly?
- Who is the one person I call when something is wrong, and what is their direct number?
- May I speak with the family of a current resident?
Four things that work
What families said made the difference
- Eat the residents' meal
- Ask to eat what the residents are eating, not the visitor lunch. The dining room at noon shows you staffing, pace, and how people are treated, and food is a daily quality of life.
- Check the community's job postings
- Search the community's name on the job sites before you visit. Constant openings for aides and nurses on the same shifts tell you about turnover and what nights may look like.
- Visit at shift change
- Come back unannounced around 3 p.m. or 11 p.m. when shifts change. How the handoff sounds, and how residents are doing while it happens, says more than a scheduled tour.
- Ask a resident's family in the parking lot
- Families visiting a parent will tell you what the tour will not. Ask what they would want to know before choosing, and what surprised them after.
Before you go
- Read the community’s state inspection record first. Every listing on CarePair links to it under “Check the record.” An inspection record shows what state surveyors found on the days they visited and whether it was fixed; it cannot tell you what a Tuesday night feels like, so read it alongside a tour.
- A problem inside a nursing home or adult care facility: Long Term Care Ombudsman, 1-855-582-6769. Free, confidential advocates for residents. New York State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.
- Write down three things while they are fresh. In CarePair, the case page asks how the tour went once it has passed; your advisor reads it and the community never does.
General information for families in Western New York, written by Cardinal Care Advisors. Not medical or legal advice; a physician, an elder law attorney, or a licensed assessor decides the things that need deciding. Tell us if a question should be here: hello@thecardinalgroup.org.