Memory Care vs. Assisted Living

As you or your loved ones age, there are necessary steps you must take to ensure their health and safety. Many family members find themselves in the role of caregiver at some point in time. As a caregiver, it’s your responsibility to look out for signs of mental and overall health decline. Keep reading to understand common illnesses, explore assisted living options, and find out how to appropriately prepare for the future for you or your aging family member.

Memory Care

 

As we age, we become more susceptible to memory decline and confusion. However, if these symptoms become more pronounced, you might want to consider whether your loved one may be developing Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s affects more than five million people in the United States, and it’s much more than memory loss. Alzheimer’s disease causes progressive mental decline that gets in the way activities of daily living. You should note the differences in dementia and Alzheimer’s. Dementia is an umbrella term for memory loss that gets in the way of performing a normally functioning life, whereas Alzheimer’s is a specific brain disease that causes changes within the actual brain structure. This mental decline is devastating for many sufferers.

If you suffer from this mental decline, you are a candidate for memory care. Memory care focuses on providing support for those suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. It can help to keep you or your loved one safe and surrounded by workers who will watch over their changing needs. Memory care will also focus on minimizing the specific effects of Alzheimer’s and other memory-related needs. It’s important to look into this kind of care, as both dementia and Alzheimer’s can become increasingly dangerous as those who suffer from them forget how to look after themselves, get confused about where they are and even become agitated by their confusion.

Since there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, it’s critical to look out for the signs and consider supporting brain awareness month by looking into information from the Alzheimer’s Association. If you’re willing to get involved or learn more about this common disease that affects so many Americans negatively, November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Consider a donation, raise awareness, or utilize their caregiving resources during National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness month by using The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation. They are a leading research organization fighting to end Alzheimer’s and provide support to you and your loved one throughout these mentally strenuous times.

Assisted Living

 

Memory care has more specific care for those suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, but assisted living is a different sort of help with supervision. Assisted living is still one of the best ways for the elderly to receive care; those who live in an assisted living facility get help with normal parts of everyday life and activities. The biggest difference between assisted living and memory care is that the latter offers specific support for anyone with a progressive brain-related chronic illness. If you have proof of medical records, you may be able to use Medicaid to help pay for memory care. However, assisted living is a better or option for those who aren’t dealing with more serious mental or brain health decline but still can’t live independently.

Be Prepared

 

One way to prepare is to consider viatical settlements. Viatical settlements are sought by those with a poor life expectancy due to many things including terminal illness or chronic illness. These illnesses can be many things—from Alzheimer’s to heart disease, from diabetes to cancer. A viatical settlement broker can help you sell your life insurance policy to a third party to get a specific cash value. Essentially this means that you sell your life insurance policy for a cash payment prior to the full payout amount from the death benefit. This viatical settlement transaction allows a life settlement company to purchase the policy so you do not continue paying for it. If the owner of a life insurance policy has a limited number of years to year live or if they need the cash surrender value immediately, this is option is in the family’s best interest.

American Life Fund is a viatical settlement company that can buy out your viatical settlement sum. This allows you or your loved one to get an accelerated death benefit. By selling the policy for cash, you feel a sense of financial peace with their passing, and the money from their viatical settlement account can then go towards potential funeral expenses, medical expenses, or housing costs like those accumulated from assisted living or memory care. Though this may feel like a morbid step, it’s a great way to get ahead of potential payments so that whoever is left with medical bills, memory care or assisted living costs is taken care of. The sale of a life insurance policy can help any family member who has taken over the role of caregiver with the payout.

During this life insurance selling process, remember that death is a normal part of life. Many times, the owner of the policy or a beneficiary wants to sell their viatical to companies like American Life Fund because they’re aware of the outcome of their chronic illness.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Lifestyle category