Allentown Senior AdvisorDoes Pennsylvania license memory care?
Pennsylvania licenses the locked unit rather than the phrase: a personal care home that secures residents with dementia must have a secured dementia care unit approved on its DHS certificate under 55 Pa. Code 2600.231, and an assisted living residence needs a special care unit under 2800.231.
29 of the 70 licensed homes in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties have a secured dementia care unit or special care unit on their DHS certificate, with 1,122 unit places in all; the largest is Saucon Valley Manor with 100. Homes without a secured unit may still house residents with mild dementia who are not at risk of leaving unsafely, but they may not lock them in. Every listing on our dementia care roster has the unit printed on its certificate.
Who can be admitted to a secured dementia care unit in Pennsylvania?
Admission requires a medical evaluation within 60 days before admission that documents the dementia diagnosis and the need for a secured unit, plus a written cognitive preadmission screening, and the home must consult the resident's family or designated person.
The requirement protects people from being locked in for convenience. If a parent's diagnosis is uncertain, ask the doctor for a clear written statement before the move, and ask the home how it reviews each unit resident's need for a secured setting over time.
What training do dementia unit staff need?
Direct care staff working in a secured dementia care unit need six hours of annual dementia-specific training on top of the 12 hours of annual training every personal care home direct care worker completes (55 Pa. Code 2600.236).
Ask how many of the unit's staff have completed the year's hours, and whether the same staff are assigned to the unit or rotate in from the rest of the building. Consistent assignment matters more to people with dementia than almost anything on a brochure.
How do special care units in assisted living residences differ?
An ALR special care unit must provide specialized dementia care in the least restrictive way consistent with each resident's support plan while preserving the resident's ability to age in place, and admission is made in consultation with the family.
The practical difference is the building around the unit: an ALR resident in a special care unit still has the ALR's private-unit and nursing-on-call protections. In the Lehigh Valley only a small number of special care units exist because so few ALRs do.
What does a dementia unit cost in the Lehigh Valley?
No public source publishes a Lehigh Valley or Pennsylvania memory care price, and CareScout does not survey memory care, so expect a premium over the same home's regular personal care rate and get the full fee schedule in writing.
Community HealthChoices does not pay for room and board in a dementia unit any more than elsewhere in a personal care home. Families whose parent will need Medical Assistance eventually should ask whether the home keeps residents who spend down, and if not, plan for a nursing home that accepts Medical Assistance.
At a glance
| A secured dementia care unit is | A secured dementia care unit is not | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Printed on the home's DHS certificate with its capacity | Implied by the words 'memory care' |
| Admission | Based on a documented diagnosis and screening | Open to anyone the family wants kept safe |
| Staff | Trained 6 extra hours a year in dementia care | Required to include a nurse around the clock |
Sources include 55 Pa. Code Chapters 20, 2600 and 2800, Pennsylvania DHS, Department of Health and Department of Aging pages, CMS, VA and CareScout rate tables as cited above; see our editorial standards.
