10 Best Memory Care Facilities in Denver, CO

Most Denver families use both public and private funding sources to cover the cost of memory care. We cover some of the most commonly used payment methods for memory care below.

Locally, long-term care facilities in Colorado are required to be licensed and regulated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (or CDPHE). If a memory care facility receives payments from Medicaid and Medicare, those facilities are more regulated. These facilities would be required to follow both state and federal regulations for nursing homes. Alternately, a private assisted living or memory care facility that does not accept Medicare or Medicaid is required to follow state standards only.

For more information about who designs and enforces licenses, you’ll want to explore resources from the Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services Division of the CDPHE. This division also holds yearly inspections to check whether memory care homes in Colorado meet state and federal standards. Unannounced visits occur at these facilities every nine to 15 months. If there are reports or complaints of noncompliance, those concerns get investigated immediately by the CDPHE. Colorado assisted living and memory care requirements are thorough and include provisions for the following:

• Staff required to complete regular memory care training
• Resident care and quality of life
• Accident prevention
• Care planning
• Medical and nursing care

If you’re curious about a particular facility, the Colorado Department of Health allows you to double-check licensure, certification requirements, and how specific memory care facilities performed on their assisted living residences page. You can explore consumer resources on specific assisted living or memory care facilities, or you can contact the Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services Division for more information.

Colorado Department of Health contact information

200 W. 14th Ave., #2732
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: 720-913-1311

COVID-19 regulations for Denver memory care facilities

Denver memory care facilities must remain compliant with the following:

• The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) recommendations for COVID-19 prevention
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidelines

In keeping up with updated federal guidelines, visitors are allowed in assisted living and memory care facilities. That said, precautions should always be taken to make sure residents stay safe.

Read the current COVID-19 guidance from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Read the CDC’s current COVID-19 guidelines for nursing homes.

Read the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s current COVID-19 guidelines for nursing homes.

These guidelines include the following in Denver:

Denver memory care communities are constantly evolving to fit the needs and cognitive well-being of the residents they serve. See the common threads in these facilities below.

Person-centered care

There’s an overarching theme through A Place for Mom’s partnering Denver communities of person-centered care. With dignity, positivity, and humility at the heart of the care they provide, communities extend these values through the training, services, and therapies caregivers offer to residents.

Person-centered care in the modern memory care facility includes training in the following techniques:

• De-escalation, where caregivers school their tone of voice and body language to best serve a patient’s emotional or physical needs
• Redirection, where caregivers work to reduce agitation by gently appealing to a patient’s personal preferences, comfort objects, or unique interests
• Reminiscence therapy, where caregivers skillfully ground patients in bits of their long-term memories through the use of the patients’ five senses

A positive, encouraging approach with emphasis in memory validation is trained into memory care staff at the Denver memory care facilities in our partner network. In these memory care units, collaboration and clear communication with residents’ loved ones and family members is prioritized. Residents throughout these communities appreciate these efforts. Loved ones and residents alike share story after positive story of the “genuine level[s] of care” and connection they experience from staff while living in these communities.^[02]

Therapeutic design

Memory care facilities in Denver employ the most cutting-edge therapeutic training and state-of-the-art facilities. Memory care facilities need to ensure that residents who may wander and lose their way stay safe and secure. Additionally, community spaces are designed with features to encourage peace and cognitive well-being. Examples of such features may include the following amenities or practices:

• Secure indoor and outdoor walking paths
• Assigned dining seating to reduce confusion and agitation
• Cheerful yet calming spaces for group activities

Where downtown facilities don’t allow for secured outdoor walking spaces on-site, several facilities have carved out beautifully curated, sun-bathed indoor walking paths to help stimulate residents’ cognition through exercise.

Some Denver facilities also offer innovative methods and technologies to foster learning and reduce cognitive decline, including:

• light therapies
• pet companions
• gentle dance therapies
• touch screen therapies
• hands-on cooking demonstrations

Any number of routine activities can help residents remember parts of their lives that bring them joy. As such, many care facilities offer a wide breadth of activities catering to residents’ personal cognitive thriving. In the rhythm of daily life at our Denver memory care partners, you’ll find a wealth of gentle mental and physical fitness classes, reminiscence therapy spaces, community games, and more to encourage cognitive wellness.

Health care for seniors in Denver

Denver has several nationally recognized hospital systems, some of which are highly rated and skilled in special senior care offerings.

Transportation for seniors in Denver

Around 84% of the memory care facilities in A Place for Mom’s partner network offer complimentary transportation for residents.^[02]

For visiting family or friends navigating the broader city, Denver offers taxis, buses, the 16th Street Mall Ride, and a light rail system. The Mall Ride is a hybrid shuttle bus that runs the length of 16th Street at no cost. The light rail system, called RTD, serves the Denver city center as well as some suburbs and the Denver airport. Fares for seniors over 65 are discounted, and there are additional RTD accessibility services for seniors with mobility issues. Additionally, several private companies offer assistance transporting people with disabilities throughout town:

• Mobility Transportation and Services
• MedTransport
• Caring Hands Transport

Seniors in memory care and their loved ones may need some additional help when they step out into the city. A local nonprofit, Seniors’ Resource Center, can help loved ones coordinate transportation throughout the city when needed. It’s worth noting that this nonprofit offers transportation services to Denver seniors with disabilities as well as their caregivers and families.