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Most nursing homes aren’t equipped for residents with dementia. That’s where memory care facilities come in.   

You’ve misplaced your car keys three times this month. Could this be a natural, but slow decline of memory from getting older, or a precursor to more serious issues like Alzheimer’s disease? 

Aging doesn’t always affect memory, but it could be a frightening experience when it does. What are your or your parent’s options if it is something serious? The traditional nursing home or retirement community isn’t equipped to support the needs of those suffering with memory-affecting disorders. However, a section of nursing home care is. 

One of the fastest-growing types of residential senior care is memory care, a distinct form of long-term care designed to meet the specific needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or other types of memory problems. It provides 24-hour supervised care, sometimes within a separate wing of a larger residential facility or a small center with a limited number of rooms or beds.   

Dementia encompases a range of disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, that cause chronic memory loss. In order to be a candidate for memory care with dementia, a doctor must find that a patient has a decline in two or three areas out of four cognitive abilities: orientation, organization, language, and memory. To make that diagnosis, a doctor or neurologist typically administers several mental-skill challenges. 

There is no definitive test for Alzheimer’s disease — doctors mostly rely on observation while ruling out other possibilities. Either way, a doctor’s referral and diagnosis is needed to enter a memory care facility. 

Memory care facilities have a lot of things in common with assisted living facilities and nursing homes: 24-hour staff, activities, housekeeping, on-call physicians, meal preparation, and more, but the key difference is built around keeping residents safe.  

Memory care facilities safety features include an emergency response system, alarmed doors so seniors can’t wander out of the community, and a handicap accessible environment. Many facilities have enclosed courtyards so residents can explore without getting lost.      

A good memory care facilities also offers color-coded hallways to help with navigation, therapeutic programs that address memory impairment, outreach programs for families, and specialized social activities. 

Below is list of memory facilities in the Greater New Orleans area. 

Sunrise of Metairie (sunriseseniorliving.com, 504.273.4366) 
3732 W. Esplanade Ave., Metairie 70002 
Other Services: Assisted Living 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 72/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

St. Anthony’s Healthcare & Rehab Center (stanthonynh.com, 504.733.8448) 
6001 Airline Dr., Metairie 70003
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 124/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, Medicaid, Medicare, V.A. Contacts 

Academy House (theacademyhouse.net, 504.884.1063) 
4324 Academy Dr., Metairie 70003 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 6/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

The Atrium Assisted Living (504.454.6635) 
6555 Park Manor Dr., Metairie 70003 
Other Services: Assisted Living 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 78/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Bayside Health Care (baysidehealthcare.net, 504.393.1515) 
3201 Wall Blvd., Gretna 70056
Other Services: Nursing Home 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 150/Yes 
Payment: Medicaid, Medicare 

Laketown Village (pegasusseniorliving.com, 504.467.1000) 
1600 Joe Yenni Blvd., Kenner 70065 
Other Services: Assisted Living, Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 25/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Harvard House (504.884.1063) 
5304 Erlanger Rd., Kenner 70065 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 8/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Wynhoven Healthcare Center (wynhoven.org, 504.347.0777) 
1050 Medical Center Blvd., Marrero 70072 
Other Services: Nursing Home 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 166/Yes 
Payment: Medicaid, Medicare 

Marrero Healthcare Center (nexion-health.com/marrero-healthcare, 504.341.3658) 
5301 August Ave., Marrero 70072 
Other Services: Nursing Home 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 105/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, Medicaid, Medicare 

The Suites at Algiers Point (algierspointsuites.com, 504.362.7166) 
813 Pelican Ave., N.O. 70114 
Other Services: Assisted Living 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 53/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Woldenberg Village (touro.com/woldenberg-village, 504.367.5640) 
3701 Behrman Pl., N.O. 70114
Other Services: Continuum of Care Retirement Community  
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 120/Yes 
Payment: Medicaid, Medicare, V.A. Contacts 

Poydras Home (poydrashome.com, 504.897.0535) 
5354 Magazine St., N.O. 70115 
Other Services: Adult Daycare, Continuum of Care Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 110/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

HomeLife in the Gardens (homelifeinthegardens.com, 504.894.6100) 
1101 Aline St., N.O. 70115 
Other Services: Assisted Living 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 95/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, V.A. Contacts 

St. Anna’s at Lambeth House (lambethhouse.com, 504.865.1960) 
150 Broadway, N.O. 70118 
Other Services: Continuum of Care Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 72/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Vista Shores (vistashores.com, 504.288.3737) 
5958 St. Bernard Ave., N.O. 70122 
Other Services: Assisted Living 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 162/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, V.A. Contacts 

St. Joseph Nursing & Rehab Center (stjosephofharahan.com, 504.738.7676) 
405 Folse Dr., Harahan 70123 
Other Services: Nursing Home 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 192/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay, Medicaid, Medicare 

Peristyle Residence Lakeview House (peristyleresidences.com, 504.517.3273) 
858 Mouton St., N.O. 70124 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 7/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, V.A. Contacts 

Lafon Nursing Facility of the Holy Family (lafonnursingfacility.com, 504.241.6285) 
6900 Chef Menteur Hwy, N.O. 70126 
Other Services: Nursing Home 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 148/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, Medicaid, Medicare, V.A. Contacts 

JoEllen Smith Living Center (jesliving.com, 504.361.7923) 
4502 General Meyer Dr., N.O. 70131 
Other Services: Continuum of Care Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 176/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, Medicaid, Medicare, V.A. Contacts 

Our Lady of Wisdom Healthcare Center (olwhealth.org, 504.394.5991) 
5600 General de Gaulle Dr., N.O. 70131 
Other Services: Nursing Home 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 138/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay, Medicaid, V.A. Contacts 

West Bank Lighthouse New Orleans (westbanklighthouse.com, 504.931.6048) 
1712 Holiday Dr., N.O. 70131 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 7/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay 

Christwood Retirement Community (christwoodrc.com, 985.898.0515) 
100 Christwood Blvd., Covington 70433 
Other Services: Assisted Living, Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 223/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Avanti Senior Living at Covington (covington.avanti-sl.com, 985.317.6110) 
2234 Watercross Pkwy, Covington 70433 
Other Services: Assisted Living, Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 98/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

St. Anthony’s Gardens (stanthonysgardens.org, 985.288.1075) 
601 Holy Trinity Dr., Covington 70433 
Other Services: Assisted Living, Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 99/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, V.A. Contacts 

The Trace (thetraceseniorliving.com, 985.241.4310) 
19432 Crawford Rd., Covington 70433 
Other Services: Assisted Living, Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 77/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Pontchartrain Healthcare Center (pontcare.com, 985.626.8581) 
1401 Hwy 190, Mandeville 70448 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 127/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, Medicaid, Medicare 

Heritage Manor of Mandeville (heritagemanormandeville.com, 985.626.4798) 
1820 Causeway Approach, Mandeville 70471 
Other Services: Nursing Home 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 145/Yes 
Payment: Insurance, Private Pay, Medicaid, Medicare 

Beau Provence (beauprovence.com, 985.778.0755) 
100 Beau West Dr., Mandeville 70471,  
Other Services: Assisted Living 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 46/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Brookdale Mandeville (brookdale.com, 985.200.0203) 
1414 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville 70471 
Other Services: Assisted Living 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 107/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay, V.A. Contacts 

The Windsor Senior Living Community (windsorseniorliving.com, 985.624.8040) 
1770 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville 70471 
Other Services: Assisted Living, Retirement Community 
Total # of Beds/Semi-Private or Private: 136/Yes 
Payment: Private Pay 

Tim Meyer is the managing editor for Nola Boomers and our sister publication, Nola Family.