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Memory Care in Mississauga

Care for people with Alzheimer's Disease and dementia

Families dealing with Alzheimer's in the Mississauga area (Brampton, Etobicoke, Oakville and Burlington) have a variety of help available. This help includes home care services and adult day programs for those in the early stages of the disease, and memory care facilities for those in the later stages of dementia.

How to get the right care during different stages of dementia

Finding Alzheimer's help or memory care in Mississauga will be different at different stages of the disease. Families should contact your local LHIN, to start. They will give you their overview of care options.

Here is our overview of care options. Our take may be different from the LHIN; we are focused on the advantages offered by private alternatives, over public. Let's look at how care options match up with stages in the development of dementia.

During early stages of the disease, memory care takes the form of family caregiving. The disease progresses at different rates in each case, so this may work for you as long as your loved one is only exhibiting early symptoms and remains relatively independent. 

As the disease advances, you may see Sundown Syndrome or similar issues arise, and at this point you should consider getting in home health care. This can be subsidized with the help of the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), or you may choose to hire a private home care service. Adult day programs are another Mississauga memory care option that can spell off caregiving. These programs can also help alleviate memory loss and some other symptoms of dementia. 

Respite care services offered by retirement homes and other care facilities are important to keep in mind at this point. There is some government support for this, also: the LHIN supports 90 days of respite care for caregivers annually (60 days maximum at once), provided you meet the requirements, and there are respite care beds available. If you qualify, this can be a boon to your ability to give care. You can even take a holiday, to help you manage your stress and avoid caregiver fatigue.

Later in the process, you will need full time help. You also need to begin to plan for the end, sadly. There is inevitability in this – but there are ways to make the best of this. Cures and robust treatments of the disease are still nowhere beyond the merely experimental (as of late 2016). 

For a look at finding care for types of dementia other than Alzheimer's in the GTA, see our page on dementia care in Toronto. 

Read Brampton and Mississauga retirement home reviews before you commit to any senior care in Peel-Halton.

The benefits of memory care in a retirement home

Memory care facilities in or near Mississauga, as listed above, offer the best possible environments and personal care available, including the following:

• Design for Alzheimer's patients. There are a growing number of retirement homes in Mississauga and elsewhere that are designed specifically for people with Alzheimer's and related dementias. Design aspects can include rounded hallways and colour-coding to indicate pathways. Labels on the doors (in both the memory care ward hallways and in individual quarters) can help patients remember where the door leads to (e.g. bathroom, closet, etc.) Dedicated care pathways outside are also available at some care facilities. Reduced lighting and stimulation inside can also help reduce anxiety. Controlled exits are another important part of these accommodations.
• Dedicated therapies are offered in memory care facilities in Mississauga, Brampton and area. These include Java Music Club, a program that uses music to facilitate personal interaction. This program, used in many long term care facilities was developed here in Canada. There are other Alzheimer's programs, including the Ashby Memory Method.
• Onsite staff is trained in approaches to Alzheimer's care, including the Gentle Persuasive Approach.
• Additional facilities can include other assistive features like a Snoezelen room that uses light therapy to soothe dementia sufferers in an environment that provides gentle stimulation.
• Other therapies and assistive features are being innovated, also. Contact residences to learn more.

During these later stages, you should also research long term care, finding residences that suit your family best in terms of location, facilities, care offered and other factors. Make a list, then hold fast. When you contact the LHIN they will recommend readily-available beds but it is important that you investigate the home first. Many experts in the industry caution that long term care facilities are not "all the same;" some are certainly less desirable than others. If you turn down the bed recommended by the local LHIN you will be put on a waiting list, and you may end up on that waiting list for a long time. Good long term care homes are hard to get into, in the end. 

Selecting private memory care facilities is one other scenario in which families choose to move loved ones into high quality Mississauga memory care facilities, like those listed above. This is a good solution while you wait to get a long term care bed in a facility that your family desires. Giving your loved one the best care environment available is something you will never regret. 

External resources:

healthcareathome.ca/mh/en