Where is the best memory care center

My granny who is of 79 years old. She is in Palm Cottage, a memory care center due to Dementia problems. Now my family is going to shift in New Jersey. I will be difficult for us to go to meet granny every fourth day in florida. So we are looking for best memory care center in New Jersey. Kindly help me to find the best one.


She looks like a lovely lady! I don't have much experience with this but I believe many others in our community do, and will hopefully respond to you soon. I hope you find a caring community for your grandmother.


My mother was in three N.J. facilities. The best one was Chelsea at Belvidere. 

If you are visiting facilities, visit during the activity period, usually 10:00 a.m. and 2 or 3 p.m. Note the type of activity going on. Is the leader actively involving the residents or just going through the motions. Are most of the residents participating or sleeping  during the activity.

The "sleeping" part is  shaky in that state law prohibits pestering a resident that does not want to participate. Still the majority of residents should be involved. I recall one visit in Mountainside where the leader was singing kareoke to '70's songs on a CD player. The residents were either sleeping or ignoring her. But she fulfilled her requirement of conducting an activity.


Look at the schedule of activities. Are they varied? 

Side question, was her husband a war veteran?


If you want to compare simple things like number of beds, levels of care, activities and so on, I highly recommend aplaceformom.com. You can talk to extremely compassionate and knowledgeable counsellors who will help you sift through things and find places you might not have thought of. They will help put you in contact with facilities so you can tour places and speak to staff.

The facilities they refer people to are part of their network, so they are not totally comprehensive, but they do have a lot to offer, and I found talking to them extremely helpful. When we needed to find a memory care facility and then a hospice facility for my mother, both in a matter of weeks or even days, speaking with the women at this organization made me feel calmer and more in control. It is a very difficult thing to process, both logistically and emotionally, and they are great in both areas, even if you end up going with a different facility.


There is also a free, peer-support, phone line for people caring for someone with dementia.  Care2caregivers can be reached at: 800-424-2494. The line is staffed by folks who have themselves cared for a loved one with dementia, and they are not affiliated with any businesses involved with senior care.  For more info, here: http://www.care2caregivers.com/



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