Memory care

What is memory care in Pennsylvania?

Memory care in Pennsylvania means a secured dementia care unit in a personal care home (55 Pa. Code 2600.231) or a special care unit in an assisted living residence (2800.231), approved on the home's DHS certificate with a set capacity.

29 of the 70 licensed homes in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties have a secured dementia care unit or special care unit on their DHS certificate, with 1,122 unit places in all; the largest is Saucon Valley Manor with 100.

Who needs a secured dementia unit?

People with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia who are at risk of leaving unsafely, wander at night, or cannot recognize danger, and whose medical evaluation documents the need for a secured setting.

Admission also requires a cognitive preadmission screening and consultation with the family.

What training do memory care staff need?

Direct care staff on a secured unit complete six hours of dementia-specific training each year on top of the 12 annual hours required of all personal care home direct care workers.

Ask about consistent staff assignment, night staffing and how the unit handles behaviors without sedating medications.

What does memory care cost?

No primary source publishes a Pennsylvania or Lehigh Valley memory care price, and CareScout does not survey it; expect a premium over the home's regular rate and ask for the full fee schedule.

VA Aid and Attendance and long-term care insurance are the main outside sources; Medical Assistance pays nursing homes, not dementia unit room and board.

How do I compare Lehigh Valley dementia units?

Compare unit size against the home's total capacity, the staff assigned to the unit on each shift, the latest DHS inspection results, the secured outdoor space and the written rate for the unit, then visit at two different times of day.

Our dementia unit roster lists every unit with its licensed capacity and the home's latest violations, sortable by town and size.

What happens when dementia advances beyond the unit?

When a resident needs two-person transfers, skilled nursing or help eating that the unit cannot safely provide, the home may give 30 days' written notice, and a nursing home becomes the usual next step; hospice can often extend time in the unit near the end of life.

Ask before admission how the unit handles late-stage needs and which nursing homes it works with.

How many memory care providers are in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties?

Here is how the state and CMS records distribute memory care between the three counties; agencies have no bed count.