3 Key Tips for Organizing a Home for Better Care With Dementia Patients

Caring for a loved one with dementia can be difficult in many ways. The signs and symptoms that worry doctors most, according to this article, are confusion, possible injury, and memory loss. These signs and symptoms can have devastating effects when it comes to completing daily tasks and self-care. To help make the transitions easier for dementia patients, here are 3 key tips for organizing a home for better dementia care. 

Create a Regular Schedule

Many dementia patients struggle to remember if they ate, took medications, or even perform simple tasks like brushing their teeth. Creating a regular schedule for these things helps dementia patients not only feel in control of their surroundings but maintain a sense of rhythm in their lives. For example, patients who eat meals at the same time every day, 8 am breakfast, 12 pm lunch, and 5 pm dinner, will begin to use these meals as an anchor for other events in their day. They will more easily remember that they also must take medications during these times, or the fact after lunch is when they regularly have exercise time. These anchors trigger their ability to remember and keep them on task. 

Equip the Home With Assistive Devices for Physical Needs

As dementia patients progress, they may lose physical mobility. This can include the tendency to fall, the inability to get out of bed, or the need for assistance with bathroom care. According to a Johns Hopkins University study, more than 90% of patient needs were those relating to safety. To help with the physical needs of a dementia patient consider the following:

• Grab Bars. These devices can be installed anywhere that a person might need a little extra assistance like near a toilet or shower. 
• Walker. A walker can assist patients not only with balance but if equipped correctly, can help patients carry items from place to place like water bottles, reading glasses, or other items that many people put down and can't remember where they put them.
• Bed Rails. If dementia patient feels disoriented as they wake either in the morning or the middle of the night, they could easily fall out of bed. Bed rails provide a level of comfort for caregivers.

Install Technology Assistance for Caregivers and Dementia Patients

Smart home devices like the Amazon Echo or Google Home can provide reminders for dementia patients and their caregivers with alerts and alarms along with engaging entertainment with things like memory games, music, and quizzes on a variety of topics. Smart home devices can also provide a level of safety by automatically locking doors at night and setting thermostats automatically. Additionally, setting up video cameras with access from a device like a tablet or a smartphone helps caregivers maintain visual contact with their loved ones when they are not in the same room. A big advantage for caregivers is that many of these devices can be programmed and managed from near or far.

As dementia patients progress, their needs become more complex. While not all these suggestions may be needed immediately, it is good to know that there are options when it comes to aging in place. For more information about care in Lexington, Georgetown, Nicholasville, or Shelbyville, Kentucky, contact Senior Helpers.