McKnights Senior Living

The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association, has launched a memory care certification program for assisted living communities, the commission announced Tuesday.

The specialty certification, which is voluntary, is meant to recognize communities that are accredited by the Joint Commission and meet its standards to support the delivery of high-quality care for residents in whom Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia have been diagnosed. 

The new certification requirements reflect current evidence-based practices in memory care, and they align with the Alzheimer’s Association dementia care practice recommendations, introduced in 2018 for nonphysician caregivers in assisted living communities, nursing homes and other long-term care and community care settings.

In addition to updating existing recommendations already familiar to the dementia caregivers, the dementia care practice recommendations released in 2018 offer guidance to nonphysician residential and community-based care providers on detection, diagnosis and ongoing medical management — topic areas usually reserved for clinicians. Some of the other topics covered include assessment and care planning; ongoing care for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; support of activities in daily living; staffing; and transitions and coordination of services.