Quality of care should be the most important consideration when finding a home for your loved one with dementia. You need to fully assess what level of care is required – know your loved one’s specific type of dementia, and what stage – and investigate communities to find the best match.

That said, personal preference also plays a role, because comfort is essential. The fit can’t just be about health and personal care. Is your loved one an introvert? Is exercise or entertainment a big part of their life? When you start visiting assisted living options, you are likely to find that size does matter. And why in many cases, a small facility might be a better choice.

Personal Preferences

Let’s say your loved one likes to get up especially early and have breakfast while most people are still asleep. A smaller residence is more likely to allow for quirks of personality like this, whereas a larger home is usually more structured, with meals and activities taking place at specific times, following specific rules. And that applies to many aspects of the senior’s schedule. From exercise routines to daily errands, smaller residences can customize their calendar to those needs.

The math is pretty simple: If there are fewer residents, then each person can receive more attention. While larger assisted living homes will of course try to accommodate personal preferences, someone who’s picky about their diet, room, or the structure of the day might be better served in a smaller community.

Staff-to-patient ratio is a big deal in healthcare, including in assisted living, and in smaller assisted living communities there is bound to be a better staff-to-patient ratio. Most states don’t require specific ratios; regulations usually say there must be adequate staff on-hand to fulfill every resident’s needs. It is undeniable, however, that a higher number of staff for every resident leads to more personalized care. This may be another reason there are more falls in homes with more residents (shown in the study cited above).

Larger residences have more complex staffing and management issues. The administration can feel more corporate, less friendly or personalized, in a larger community. Administrators are less likely to get to know residents and their families in larger communities. Smaller residences also look and feel more homely, as they’re usually made up of one or more houses within a complex. Deciding on what type of assisted living suites you or a loved one is a big decision.  Quality care, smaller and and personalized staff can make the golden years a wonderful time in a persons life.