A Place for Mom
Assisted Living
Memory Care
Independent Living
Senior Living
Sign in

Memory Care vs. Nursing Homes: What’s the Difference?

10 minute readLast updated April 10, 2024
Written by Nirali Desai
fact checkedby
Merritt Whitley
Reviewed by Niki Gewirtz, senior living expertNiki Gewirtz is a senior new hire support specialist with A Place for Mom and has advised families for more than 20 years.
More info

You may be wondering about the difference between memory care and nursing homes if your elderly parent with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia requires full-time care. A key difference between memory care and nursing homes is the level of care provided. A nursing home provides the highest level of long-term medical care available outside of a hospital, while a memory care facility provides specialized care to enhance the quality of life for people with dementia. Although both long-term care options offer 24-hour care, supervision, and meals, they differ in care services, staffing practices, and activities.

Let our care assessment guide you

Our free tool provides options, advice, and next steps based on your unique situation.

Take our free care quiz

Key Takeaways

  1. Both memory care and nursing homes provide personal care and close supervision, but nursing homes also provide skilled nursing care.
  2. Memory care caters to seniors with memory loss with design features that minimize confusion and staff that receive specialized training in dementia care.
  3. Memory care can be combined with skilled nursing because some nursing homes offer a specialized memory care unit to care for individuals with dementia.
  4. Nursing home care is more expensive than memory care because of the higher level of personal and medical care.

What to expect in memory care

Memory care communities provide 24-hour specialized care for people with memory loss. Residents typically receive meals and help with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, dressing, and medication management.

Additional features typically include person-centered care, unique memory care programming, and secure design features to improve residents’ safety and quality of life.

Staff trained in dementia care

Memory care communities require specialized training and, sometimes, certifications for staff caregivers. Once properly trained, memory care staff recognize and cope with common dementia behaviors and symptoms, such as:

Specialized programming

Activities in memory care are carefully selected to help engage seniors’ brains, soothe common dementia symptoms, and improve seniors’ overall health.

Memory care programs often include the following therapies and activities:

  • Sensory and reminiscence therapies (musicscent, taste, light, art, and pet therapies)
  • Brain fitness activities (puzzles, memory games, etc.)
  • Fitness activities (chair yoga, tai chi, walking club, etc.)

Safe, secure environments

Safety is a key priority at memory care facilities, and they’re often equipped with built-in safety features. These may include locked and alarmed exit doors to prevent wandering.

Memory care communities are also designed to reduce confusion and create a homelike environment for seniors with memory loss. The following architectural and design features are common in memory care facilities:

  • Color-coded walls
  • Clearly defined shared spaces
  • Enclosed gardens or courtyards
  • Personalized memory boxes outside residents’ doors
  • Keypad entrances for family or staff

What to expect in nursing homes

Nursing homes provide 24-hour skilled nursing care and supervision, meals, and assistance with activities of daily living to individuals who have serious health issues or chronic conditions. Like most memory care facilities, they offer activities, but they’re typically not as personalized and robust.

Short-term or long-term care

There are typically two types of care options available in nursing homes:

  • Short-term care. Skilled nursing care and rehabilitation services are available to people recovering from an illness, surgery, or acute injury. These services are typically provided at skilled nursing facilities, which specifically accommodate shorter stays.
  • Long-term care. Long-term care is available to people with cognitive disorders, terminal illnesses, or chronic medical conditions.

Skilled nursing services

In addition to robust personal care assistance, nursing homes provide skilled care services. These services must be provided by registered nurses or other trained, licensed professionals under the supervision of a doctor. Most memory care communities cannot legally provide this level of care.

Nursing homes offer the following skilled services to help seniors improve or maintain their health:

  • Medication management and administration
  • Wound care
  • IV therapies
  • Respiratory therapy
  • Rehabilitative therapies (speech, occupational, and physical)

Strict admission requirements

Nursing home care requires a physician’s prescription and physical exam before a resident can move in.

Seniors may qualify for nursing home care in the following situations:

  • They need rehabilitative services.
  • They require continuous supervision.
  • They need significant help with daily activities, such as walking, eating, bathing, and dressing.
  • They need frequent assistance managing health conditions and medications.

Nursing homes are subject to both federal and state regulations. Therefore, it’s important to check with your state’s Medicaid agency or licensing agency for more specific information.

Let our care assessment guide you

Our free tool provides options, advice, and next steps based on your unique situation.

Nursing home vs. memory care: What services are offered?

To help you get an overview of what to expect, here’s a comparison of services that can be found in nursing homes and memory care facilities:

ServicesMemory CareNursing Homes
Meal servicesxx
Housekeeping and laundry servicesxx
Social activitiesxx
Medication managementxx
Help with daily activities (ADLs)xx
Specialized care for patients with memory lossxx
24-hour care and supervisionxx
Secured entrances and exits to prevent wanderingxx
Rehabilitative therapies as neededx
Memory-enhancing therapiesx
Unique facility layout and design to reduce confusionx
Transportation to appointmentsx

Combining memory care with skilled nursing

Sometimes the difference between memory care and a nursing home can get blurry — especially when these two care types are combined. If your loved one has significant health issues besides dementia, you may wonder if they can receive memory care services within a nursing home. In short, yes, they can.

Individuals with dementia can receive skilled nursing services along with memory care in these settings:

  • Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). These communities offer multiple levels of care in one convenient location. Independent livingassisted living, memory care, and nursing home care may all be available on the same campus. This unique care option allows seniors with dementia to transition into memory care and access necessary skilled nursing services on an as-needed basis with minimal disruption.
  • Memory care units within a nursing home. Some nursing homes designate a separate space or wing in the facility to accommodate the needs of residents with memory loss.[01] In a nursing home memory care unit, staff members typically have specialized training, and residents receive a higher level of medical care than in a stand-alone memory care facility.

“Oftentimes, families turn to skilled nursing when they run out of funding for private pay options like memory care,” says Rachel Levy, a senior national account manager at A Place for Mom with over two decades of senior living experience. “Another reason could be that the needs of a memory care resident exceed the state regulations of memory care or assisted living. For instance, if a resident can no longer feed themselves, they’d need to move to a nursing home.”

Cost of memory care vs. nursing homes

The national median cost of memory care is $6,200 per month, according to A Place for Mom’s 2024 report on the cost of long-term care.[02] On the other hand, the national median cost of a nursing home is $8,669 per month for a semi-private room and $9,733 per month for a private room.[03]

Many factors affect the cost of memory care communities and nursing homes:

  • Location. Some cities and states, such as New York and California, have a higher cost of living and different requirements that affect the overall cost.
  • Services provided. Services vary among communities. For example, personalized services to accommodate unique health care or dietary needs may cost more.
  • Type of unit. In many nursing homes and memory care facilities, residents can choose a private room or a shared room. Living with a roommate can help reduce long-term care expenses.

Talk with a Senior Living Advisor

Our advisors help 300,000 families each year find the right senior care for their loved ones.

How to decide between memory care and a nursing home

The type of care your loved one ultimately needs depends on their mental and physical health.

Memory care is tailored to people with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, but it only provides limited medical care. Seniors who need round-the-clock skilled nursing care and significant assistance with personal care may benefit from moving to a nursing home.

FROM THE EXPERT: CHOOSING MEMORY CARE OR A NURSING HOME

I recommend talking to a potential memory care community’s nursing staff about your family member’s needs. They’ll likely perform a free assessment, which can help indicate whether your family member would fit better in a memory care community or a nursing home.

If you’re unsure about what’s best for your loved one, talk with your family, your elderly loved one, and their doctor or case manager to better understand their unique care needs and local care options.

A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Advisors can also help you navigate care options based on your loved one’s location, preferences, and needs — all at no cost to your family. Plus, they can help you learn the differences between memory care and home care and memory care and assisted living.

SHARE THE ARTICLE

  1. National Institute on Aging. (2017, May 18). Finding long-term care for a person with Alzheimer’s.

  2. Genworth. (2023).Cost of care survey.

Written by
Nirali Desai
Nirali Desai is a senior copywriter at A Place for Mom specializing in memory care and life enrichment topics. Previously, she worked in marketing and social media, edited a regional senior magazine, and wrote for the American Red Cross. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.
Read more
Merritt Whitley is a former editor and creative copywriter for A Place for Mom, specializing in senior health, memory care, and lifestyle articles. With eight years of experience writing for senior audiences, Merritt has managed multiple print publications, social media channels, and blogs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Eastern Illinois University.
Read more
Niki Gewirtz is a senior new hire support specialist with A Place for Mom and has advised families for more than 20 years.
Read more
Learn more about our Editorial Guidelines

The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical, legal or financial advice or create a professional relationship between A Place for Mom and the reader. Always seek the advice of your health care provider, attorney or financial advisor with respect to any particular matter, and do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of anything you have read on this site. Links to third-party websites are only for the convenience of the reader; A Place for Mom does not endorse the contents of the third-party sites.

Make the best senior care decision