1. Are you a Nursing Home?
No. We are an assisted living facility (Type B) and certified for Alzheimer's care.

2. What is the difference between an assisted living facility and a Nursing Home?
Nursing Homes provide a more intensive level of care than an assisted living. Nursing Home residents usually have complex medical conditions that require interventions such as injections, feeding tubes or restraint. Nursing homes are required to have nurses around the clock who provide and supervise the care of their patients. Nursing homes are also oriented toward a medical model of care, with physicians on staff. Some Nursing Homes receive public funding such as Medicare and Medicaid and most Long Term Care Insurance policies pay for Nursing Home care.
Assisted Living facilities provide a less intensive level of care and, generally, do not subscribe to the medical model of care. Most assisted living facilities do not have nurses or physicians on their staff and provide mainly physical and personal care, such as assistance with bathing, eating, dressing and toileting. Generally speaking, any complex medical or nursing care needed must be performed by an outside agency such as home health. Public funding is not available in Texas for assisted living facilities. Some Long Term Care Insurance Policies will pay for care in an assisted living. Many assisted living facilities have a more home like feeling and some are actually small homes with just 3 or 4 elderly residents.

3. Does AlzCare have Nurses on staff?
Yes, we have a nurse on staff who oversees the medical care of each resident. Our nurses will also work with the resident’s physician when minor illnesses or medication problems arise. In addition, we have a local practitioner available for "house calls" to most facilities.

4. What are your staffing ratios?
During waking hours, our staffing ratios range from 1 caregiver for every 5 residents. During sleeping hours, our ratio is 1 to 7.5.

5. Does AlzCare take care of people with all types of Dementia?
The types of Dementia that we see most frequently at AlzCare are Alzheimer’s type and Vascular type. We will perform pre-admission assessments and evaluations on individuals with other types of Dementia.
We screen our residents carefully to make sure that we can provide the level of care that they need and that they will be a good “fit” with the other residents at AlzCare. We also perform assessments to ascertain that the potential resident is able to benefit from the program that we offer.

If your loved one is out of town, please call to discuss any special arrangements that might be required.

6. Do you provide day care or respite care?
We offer day care when space is available. We are licensed by the state to have only 16 residents so even one extra person for 2 hours or overnight would not be possible. We must assess the resident the same way we would assess if that person were moving in to be a permanent resident.

7. Do you help residents take their medication?
Absolutely! In fact, we supervise all of the resident’s medication as we believe that this aspect of care is dangerous for the residents to cope with on their own. All resident medication is kept in a locked medicine cabinet in the office.

8. What about over-the-counter medications, nutritional supplements and herbal remedies?
We will gladly supervise any substance that the resident’s physician prescribes. We must have a physicians order for all substances that are supervised. All substances that we supervise must be labeled by a pharmacy. Our residents are not allowed to keep any type of medication or other potentially dangerous items/substances in their room.

9. Do you have your own pharmacy to refill medications?
No, but we do have an agreement with a local pharmacy in the neighborhood which delivers directly to AlzCare. If you want to continue using your own pharmacy we ask that you be consistent and timely with refills for your loved one.

10. Do you provide transportation to and from appointments?
Because of our small size and staffing ratio, it is difficult for us to provide transportation for the residents. Only in certain special circumstances can we provide transportation. Some family members prefer to take their loved one to the appointments themselves which we encourage. In the event of an emergency however we call EMS or another ambulance service to transport the resident to an appropriate medical facility.

In addition, a nurse practitioner is available for "house calls" to your loved one.

11. What type of Activity Program do you provide?
Because individuals with Dementia need routine and structure, our Activity/Engagement Program is designed to structure the residents day from the time that they arise throughout the day until they go to bed. The Activity/Engagement Program is designed to accentuate our residents’ strengths and minimize their disabilities. We incorporate hygiene and activities of daily living into the program. Some of our residents prefer to stay busy with household chores as that adds value to their being. The activities are designed to stimulate cognition, movement, communication and socialization.

12. Are the residents allowed to have pets?
No. We find that pets are territorial and the change of environment can cause distractions for our residents. The AlzCare family does include some pets. Staff and families often bring animals to "visit".

13. May I drop in for a tour?
Sure! We prefer to provide tours by appointment, but if you are in the area please stop by. We have several requests for tours each day and to honor all of these requests is not conducive to a calm environment. We believe that AlzCare is their home and they should not be disrupted too many times during the day.

14. When can I visit my loved one?
We have no set visiting hours. Families are welcome at any time of the day. We strongly encourage the families to be involved in the resident’s life. It gives the residents continuity.

15. Can families eat at AlzCare when visiting?
Sure! Families are welcome to have meals with the residents, FREE OF CHARGE. We ask that you give us a few hours notice so that our kitchen staff can make sure there is enough food for everyone.

16. Can I take my loved one for an outing?
Sure you can! The residents may leave with family any time the family wants to take them out. We do ask that you sign them out and back in with staff. We will not let a resident leave with someone that we are not familiar with unless we first obtain permission from the family.

17. What kinds of behaviors are your staff capable of handling?
We are specially trained to deal with individuals who display most of the common (and not so common) behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. Behaviors such as hoarding (which is shopping, wandering, hiding objects, confusion, disorientation, paranoia, reluctance to bathe, difficulty dressing, layering of clothing, problems with toileting, sundowning, agitation, anger, frustration, difficulty with mobility, problems with eating and withdrawal are all behaviors that we are trained to work with and manage.

18. Are meals served at scheduled and specific times? Do the residents have to eat at that time?
All meals, snacks and beverages are served family style. While breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at general times; we try to respect and support the lifestyles our residents have practiced all of their lives. Late risers and early birds may not necessarily eat breakfast together.

19. Can my loved one walk around at night if he/she cannot sleep?
Yes. Our staff is trained to support the resident that may encounter a restless evening of sleep. However, our staff is also trained to understand why this restlessness may occur. If there is evidence that this is a patterned behavior, in conjunction with the family and the attending physician, we will develop a care plan that will meet the needs of the resident.

20. Are your homes just for the people with early stage dementia?
No. It is the philosophy of AlzCare that our homes are created to provide care for all levels of dementia, regardless of the stage. This is their home and they need to be surrounded by the friends and caregivers whom they are familiar with. We would prefer the resident be able to live with us until end-of-life. We work very closely with hospice in special situations to ease the process of the final days of the disease.

21. Will my mother have to go to a nursing home when she needs more and more care?
We will do everything within our power to assure that your loved one will not have to go into a nursing home. In the past we have brought in home health and/or hospice to provide any additional care needed. These additional services will be at the families expense, but are often covered by insurance or Medicare.

22. How do you handle wandering?
AlzCare is a secured facility so there is little risk of a resident wandering away. If the resident is wandering we try to redirect by giving them a task or occupy them with conversation. If the resident prefers to walk, be active, there are walking paths located in the backyard which is a secure location.

23. Dad uses a walker (wheelchair). Will you still take him?
We prefer that new residents are ambulatory. However what we are really looking for is their ability to bear weight and have the potential to benefit from the AlzCare environment. All potential residents require an assessment, so the best thing to do is schedule an appointment. The person doing the assessment will assess their abilities at that time.

24. Should I put a TV in Dad’s room?
No. We discourage family members from doing this because it could lead to isolation. We encourage our residents to socialize and participate in activities, a TV in their room could encourage the resident to stay in their room.

25. Mom loves to be outdoors. Can she go outside?
Yes! Our backyard is very spacious as well as secure. Residents are free to wander in this secure area.

26. Do you add fees as mom needs more care?
When a resident enters the late stages of the disease and requires Level 3 care, there is an additional charge. Please check with the local manager for details.

27. Do you have doctors and nurses?
Residents are required to have a primary physician of their choice. AlzCare does not contract with nor have any financial relationship with any physician or physician group. We allow the primary physician access to our homes in order to minimize resident inconvenience with travel. Our homes are staffed with a licensed nurse and are visited by a nurse practitioner.

28. Is your home secure? Can Mom wander away?
Each of our homes is equipped with a non threatening, but state of the art security system. Each yard is protected by a secured alarmed fence. Every door and window of each home is protected by an audible alarm that alerts staff when there is an unaccompanied resident who attempts to wander outside the home.

29. Do you do criminal background checks on your employees? What other precautions do you take?
Of course we do! All employees go through a criminal background check process, as well as the state misconduct registry check.