18 tips for moving someone with dementia: what you need to know
Involve your loved one in the move as much as possible without causing additional stress or overwhelm.
Work with the memory care team, share your loved one’s routines and preferences, and plan the move for a quieter time.
Familiar belongings, regular visits, and a gradual introduction to new routines may help your loved one adjust.
As your loved one’s dementia or Alzheimer’s disease symptoms progress, you may reach a point when family members, family caregivers, and professional caregivers can no longer provide enough support at home on their own. If that happens, it may be time to consider moving your loved one to housing that can better meet their needs, such as memory care, dementia care, or Alzheimer’s care. Deciding whether to make this move can be difficult for everyone involved.
Moving from one home to another can be stressful for anyone. For a person living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, changes in their lifestyle, routines, surroundings, and familiar faces can make the transition especially challenging. The absence of loved ones and presence of unfamiliar care team members may add to that stress.
18 tips for a smooth move
These 18 practical tips can help make the transition smoother and less overwhelming for you and your loved one:
1. Choose a care community
Whether your loved one is moving into an Alzheimer’s, dementia, or memory care community, careful research is essential. Take time to understand each community, including its services, amenities, and features. This information can help you compare the available options and find the right fit. Make sure the community is equipped to support your loved one’s specific care needs.
2. Work with a geriatric care manager
A geriatric care manager can help you identify the type of living environment that may be suitable for your loved one. There are multiple types of care community options available, and making an informed decision can increase the likelihood of finding a community that’s a good fit.
3. Discuss a strategy for making decisions together
Talk with your geriatric care manager, doctor, and other family members about how you’ll make decisions throughout the process. If participating won’t overwhelm your loved one or cause them undue stress, involve them in decisions about the move as much as possible.
4. Involve your loved one
Include your loved one in the moving process as much as possible. Giving them a sense of choice, agency, and control may increase the likelihood of a successful transition and help prevent relocation stress syndrome.1
5. Recognize that this is a stressful situation
Moving can feel frightening for anyone, but it may be particularly stressful for someone living with dementia. Expect some confusion, anxiety, and anger during the transition. These feelings are normal and deserve acknowledgment. Give your loved one space to express how they feel, validate those feelings, and offer reassurance about the move. Help them develop a sense of safety, security, and belonging in their new environment.
6. Go at a comfortable pace
Unless your loved one needs to move quickly for their well-being, find a pace that feels comfortable for both of you. Allowing enough time for the process can help keep anxiety levels down, which may make the transition easier for you, your loved one, and everyone else involved.
7. Understand the challenges of transitioning
Transfer trauma can occur when an older adult moves from one living environment to another. Transfer trauma is a group of symptoms that may occur when an older adult moves from one environment to another.2 Symptoms can include confusion, anxiety, pain, sleeplessness, and poor appetite. They may appear before, during, or after the move. Understanding what’s happening and why can help you respond to the challenges of this transition. Allowing your loved one to make decisions and participate in the moving process may help prevent or at least lessen the trauma.
8. Add familiar items
Make your loved one’s new room or living space feel as familiar and comforting as possible. Include meaningful possessions, such as a photo album, a favorite chair, or the television they use to watch a favorite daily show. Bring any other belongings that hold special meaning for them. Add pictures of loved ones and familiar objects, and play music they recognize. Familiar surroundings and reassuring memories may help your loved one feel more at home and settle into the new environment.
9. Visit the memory care community before the move
If possible, arrange for your loved one to visit the senior living community before moving in. Spend some time there together, join an activity, and give your loved one an opportunity to become familiar with the surroundings. They may also be able to meet and engage with some of the residents who will become their new neighbors.
10. Work with the community to ease the transition
A move can create uneasy feelings for your loved one and everyone else involved. Work with the care team and ask for ideas that may make your loved one’s transition into the new community feel easier and more comfortable.
11. Move in during a quieter time
Ask the care team what time of day the community tends to be less busy, and schedule the move for that time if possible. Moving when there’s less traffic, noise, activity, and commotion may reduce stress for both you and your loved one.
12. Communicate with the care team right away
The sooner the care team gets to know your loved one, the sooner they can begin making meaningful connections and starting familiar conversations. Share your loved one’s usual daily schedule, likes, dislikes, habits, and personal traits. This information can help professional caregivers develop an approach that reflects your loved one’s specific needs. Also provide their medical and mental health history, along with a current list of medications.
13. Take it slow during the first few days
Try not to introduce too many new faces, places, and foods all at once. Consider accompanying your loved one to the dining room for their first few meals. Help them adjust to their new surroundings, meals, and food schedule. Then, gradually introduce them to other neighbors and help them become acquainted with the different parts of their new home.
14. Describe what’s happening around them
Help your loved one feel secure in their new home by participating in the experience and describing what’s happening around them, if needed. Explain the overall daily schedule, mealtimes, shared community spaces, and planned activities. Pointing out positive things as they happen can help your loved one feel more secure and optimistic about the days ahead.
15. Visit frequently during the first few weeks
If possible, visit your loved one regularly during the first few weeks. Seeing a familiar face may reduce some of the anxiety and worry they experience in a new environment. Frequent visits can also reassure your loved one that they haven’t been abandoned and aren’t being isolated from their family or other people who matter to them.
16. Schedule regular family visits
Once your loved one has established a daily routine, identify and schedule times for family members and other people in their care circle to visit. Visits can happen in person or through virtual tools such as Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime. Choose a weekly schedule that fits comfortably into your loved one’s daily routine. If needed, spend time making sure they can use the technology independently. Having regular visits on the schedule can give your loved one something familiar to look forward to each week.
18. Give yourself grace
It’s common for family caregivers to feel guilty during this transition. Remember that your decision can give your loved one access to more specialized care.
Try to remain calm, even when the circumstances feel overwhelming, because your loved one may notice and respond to your emotional state.
It may take at least four to six weeks for them to settle into their new community and become familiar with their new routines. Remind yourself that you made this difficult decision with your loved one’s care, well-being, and quality of life in mind.
Get support navigating dementia care
Dementia care can bring new questions at every stage. Our guide can help you understand care options, plan next steps, and feel more prepared along the way.
Written by
Marlena del Hierro
Marlena del Hierro is a strategic senior care industry leader with over a decade of experience. As Director of Operational Growth at CareScout, she drives growth and forges strategic partnerships, leveraging her MA in Gerontology from San Francisco State University. Pr...
