Tour companion · Updated June 2026
Memory care tour questions the brochure won't answer
Memory care is the most expensive product in senior living (typically 20 to 40 percent above assisted living; see the cost guide) and the hardest to evaluate on a tour, because the lobby tells you nothing about 2am. These questions do. Print our general touring checklist too; this page adds the dementia-specific layer.
Staffing, where memory care lives or dies
- How many caregivers are physically inside the memory care neighborhood overnight, for how many residents? (A number, not "fully staffed")
- How many hours of dementia-specific training do staff get when hired, and how many every year after? Who delivers it?
- How long has the current memory care director been in the seat, and how many directors in the past three years?
- Are memory care staff dedicated to the neighborhood or floated from assisted living?
The hard scenarios, asked plainly
- "Walk me through what happens when a resident sundowns badly at 6pm: who responds, and what do they actually do?"
- "What's your policy on psychotropic medications, and who has to consent before anything is prescribed for behavior?"
- "When did a resident last try to leave the building, and what happened?" (Every real memory care has an answer; surprise at the question is itself an answer)
- "What behaviors would lead you to ask a resident to move out, and can I have the list in writing?" This is the one families skip and regret; memory care can issue move-out notices, and the triggers belong in your folder before you sign.
- "Can residents stay through end of life with hospice, or is there a point you require a move?"
Daily life, verified
- Ask for last month's actual activity calendar, then ask which three events really happened and who attended
- Watch the residents during the tour: engaged, or parked? Staff talking to them, or over them?
- How does the secured outdoor space actually get used, and how often do residents go outside?
- How do families get updates: a cadence and a named person, or "call anytime"?
The money questions, memory care edition
- The all-in monthly number for your parent's current presentation, in writing
- What triggers a care-level increase in memory care specifically, and what does each level cost?
- Is there a second-person fee structure if a spouse moves in too?
- What happens to the community fee if the placement doesn't work out in the first 90 days?
The alternative worth knowing about
For many people with dementia, especially those without serious wandering risk who do better in calm, consistent settings, a six-bed board-and-care home holding a dementia waiver delivers more one-on-one attention at meaningfully lower cost. Verify the waiver and the home's history on its state inspection record, and read the decision guide for who fits where.