Dignity-first memory support at home
Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care at Home in Southern Ohio
Non-medical support for the routines, personal care, supervision, meals, household needs, communication challenges, and caregiver exhaustion that can come with memory loss.
The disease may not be the newest problem
Families usually call because daily life changed.
The diagnosis may have existed for months or years. The urgent concern is often that bathing stopped, a spouse cannot sleep, the person is trying to leave the house, meals are being forgotten, the same questions repeat all day, or a once-manageable routine now ends in fear or argument.
The question is not only “What kind of dementia is this?” It is also “What is becoming difficult today?”
Personal care becomes distressing
Bathing, dressing, oral care, toileting, or changing clothes may feel frightening, embarrassing, unfamiliar, or unnecessary to the person.
The day loses its structure
Meals, medications, sleep, clothing, appointments, and household tasks may no longer happen in a workable order.
Safety requires more supervision
Unsafe cooking, falls, getting lost, leaving the home, poor judgment, or inability to call for help may increase risk.
The caregiver is running out of capacity
A spouse or adult child may be physically exhausted, emotionally depleted, missing work, or no longer able to provide hands-on care safely.
A dementia care day is built from ordinary moments
Support the routine before the routine becomes a crisis.
Dementia care is often less about a single dramatic intervention and more about making the next part of the day understandable, safe, and emotionally manageable.
Wake, orient, wash, dress
Use familiar steps, prepare supplies, offer limited choices, support toileting and hygiene, and allow extra time.
Personal care + calm cueingMeals, movement, and purpose
Prepare food, encourage fluids, support safe movement, complete simple household tasks, and use familiar conversation or music.
Nutrition + companionshipRestlessness and repetition
Notice patterns, reduce noise and clutter, redirect without arguing, offer a familiar activity, and report meaningful changes.
Observation + redirectionTransition toward sleep
Keep the environment calmer, support toileting and changing clothes, reduce confusing stimulation, and prepare for nighttime needs.
Routine + caregiver reliefCommunication is part of the care
Do not turn every moment into a memory test.
A person living with dementia may repeat a question, insist they need to go home while already at home, accuse someone of moving an item, resist care, or become frightened by a task they completed independently for decades.
Correction and argument may increase distress. A calmer response often starts with the emotion: reassure, simplify, offer one step, and redirect when possible.
Safety planning without false guarantees
Supervision helps, but no caregiver can promise that every risk disappears.
Wandering, falls, unsafe appliances, medication errors, dehydration, nighttime confusion, and emergency response require a household plan—not only a caregiver assignment.
Identify the pattern
Write down when restlessness, attempts to leave, agitation, falls, toileting urgency, or confusion usually occur. Patterns can guide staffing and prevention.
Reduce avoidable hazards
Review doors, lighting, walking paths, bathroom safety, appliances, firearms, medications, car keys, emergency contacts, and identification.
Plan for what happens next
Decide who is called, who can arrive, what information is available to responders, and what the family will do if the person leaves or cannot be located.
The boundary families need to understand
Dementia caregiving is not dementia diagnosis or medical treatment.
SILK supports the person’s daily life at home. Physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, emergency professionals, and other licensed clinicians manage medical evaluation and treatment.
Daily living, routines, and family relief.
- Companionship, reassurance, cueing, and redirection
- Bathing, dressing, toileting, grooming, and mobility assistance
- Meal preparation, hydration encouragement, and household support
- Meaningful activities based on interests and remaining abilities
- Supervision and observation consistent with the care plan
- Respite for spouses and family caregivers
- Reporting meaningful changes through SILK’s process
Diagnosis, treatment, and urgent evaluation.
- Diagnosing dementia, delirium, depression, infection, or another condition
- Changing medications, doses, or treatment plans
- Skilled nursing, therapy, wound care, injections, or sterile procedures
- Evaluating new hallucinations, severe agitation, sudden weakness, or acute decline
- Creating transfer techniques or exercise programs without clinical guidance
- Emergency treatment or continuous medical monitoring
- Determining legal capacity, guardianship, or financial authority
Caregiver strain tends to accumulate
“I can manage” can become “I cannot leave the room.”
Respite is part of the dementia plan
The family caregiver is also part of the care system.
A spouse may be managing toileting, meals, appointments, nighttime wakefulness, repeated questions, household work, and the fear that something will happen the moment they step away.
Respite is not abandonment. It is scheduled protection for the person who is carrying the rest of the week. The earlier relief is introduced, the more likely the arrangement is to remain sustainable.
What happens after you contact SILK?
Build the plan around the difficult parts of the day.
A dementia care plan should be specific enough that the caregiver understands the routine, likely triggers, meaningful activities, safety concerns, family communication, and what must be reported.
Paying for dementia support
Medicaid/PASSPORT and private pay follow different paths.
SILK accepts Medicaid/PASSPORT for eligible clients in Ross, Jackson, Gallia, Pike, and Vinton Counties and also works with private-pay families.
Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, approved services, and authorized hours are decided by the appropriate agencies. SILK evaluates whether the address, schedule, care needs, travel, and staffing can be accepted responsibly.
Medicaid/PASSPORT
May authorize eligible home- and community-based services after assessment, enrollment, care planning, and provider acceptance.
Private Pay
The family arranges care directly with SILK. Current rates, minimums, timing, and service terms should be confirmed for the requested plan.
Medicare
Generally does not cover ongoing custodial personal care, homemaking, supervision, or 24-hour care when those are the only needs. Skilled home health and hospice have separate coverage rules.
Where SILK provides dementia care
Five core Southern Ohio counties.
SILK evaluates Medicaid/PASSPORT and private-pay dementia care requests in Ross, Jackson, Gallia, Pike, and Vinton Counties. Availability depends on the exact address, requested schedule, care needs, authorization, travel, caregiver availability, and caregiver fit.
Chillicothe, Bainbridge, Frankfort, Kingston, and surrounding areas.
Jackson, Wellston, Oak Hill, Coalton, and rural communities.
Gallipolis, Vinton, Rio Grande, Cheshire, Bidwell, and rural homes.
Waverly, Piketon, Beaver, Jasper, and surrounding communities.
McArthur, Hamden, Zaleski, Wilkesville, and rural addresses.
Reliable outside support
Use the right resource for the right question.
SILK can discuss non-medical home care. These organizations provide medical education, dementia guidance, caregiver support, and crisis resources beyond SILK’s role.
National Institute on Aging
Federal information on Alzheimer’s disease, behavior changes, wandering, bathing, dressing, communication, caregiving, and planning.
Visit NIA dementia resources →Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline
Free dementia information, emotional support, local resources, care planning, and crisis assistance at 800-272-3900.
Call 800-272-3900 →AAA7 Caregiver Support
Regional information and caregiver resources for families in the ten-county Area Agency on Aging District 7 service area.
Explore AAA7 programs →Dementia care FAQ
Answers before the call.
These answers are general. The exact plan depends on the person, address, safety, schedule, authorization, caregiver availability, household conditions, and SILK policy.
What does in-home dementia care include?
In-home dementia care is non-medical support built around the person’s daily life. It may include companionship, supervision, personal care, bathing and dressing assistance, meal support, homemaking, reminders, redirection, meaningful activities, respite, and help maintaining a familiar routine. The exact plan depends on needs, safety, authorization, caregiver training, schedule, and SILK policy.
Is dementia care the same as skilled home health care?
No. SILK provides non-medical home care. Skilled home health provides licensed clinical services such as nursing, therapy, wound care, medical assessment, or treatment under applicable orders and coverage rules. A person can sometimes receive both types of care from different providers.
Can a caregiver help when someone resists bathing or dressing?
Yes, when those tasks are part of the care plan and can be completed safely. A calmer approach may include preparing supplies first, protecting privacy, explaining one step at a time, offering limited choices, allowing more time, and encouraging the person to do the parts they still can. Care should not be forced in a non-emergency.
How should caregivers respond to repeated questions or confusion?
Caregivers can answer calmly, reassure the person, use simple language, redirect to a familiar activity, and avoid arguing over details that are not necessary for immediate safety. The goal is usually to reduce distress and help the person move through the moment, not to win a factual debate.
Can SILK prevent wandering?
No provider can promise that wandering will never occur. SILK can help families follow a supervision and home-safety plan, notice patterns, reduce avoidable triggers, support routines, and communicate concerns. Families should also use appropriate door, identification, emergency, and law-enforcement planning. If a person is missing, begin searching immediately and contact 911 promptly.
Does SILK provide overnight or 24-hour dementia care?
Overnight and extended schedules may be available when the address, needs, payment source, authorization, requested hours, staffing, travel, and caregiver fit align. Continuous 24-hour care normally requires multiple caregivers working separate shifts. SILK does not promise that every around-the-clock request can be staffed.
Can dementia care help a spouse or adult child who is exhausted?
Yes. Respite gives a family caregiver time to sleep, work, attend appointments, leave the house, or recover physically and emotionally while the person’s routine continues. Respite should be considered before exhaustion becomes an injury, health crisis, or breakdown in the care arrangement.
What if behavior or confusion suddenly becomes much worse?
A sudden change should not automatically be blamed on dementia progression. Pain, infection, medication effects, dehydration, injury, delirium, or another medical problem may increase confusion or behavior changes. Contact the person’s medical provider promptly, and call 911 for severe symptoms, immediate danger, or a medical emergency.
Can SILK work alongside hospice, nurses, or therapists?
Yes. SILK caregivers can support daily living and household routines while hospice, home health, nurses, therapists, and physicians manage clinical services. Each provider has a separate role. New clinical instructions should be reviewed through the appropriate care-plan and supervisory process.
Does SILK accept Medicaid or PASSPORT for dementia care?
SILK serves eligible Medicaid/PASSPORT clients in Ross, Jackson, Gallia, Pike, and Vinton Counties. Eligibility, enrollment, authorized services, and approved hours are decided by the appropriate administering agencies, not by SILK. Service also depends on the exact address, care needs, schedule, authorization, travel, and caregiver availability.
Is private-pay dementia care available?
Yes. SILK provides private-pay care in its core counties and evaluates requests in additional Southern Ohio communities. Availability depends on the address, requested schedule, care needs, travel, caregiver availability, and whether the plan can be staffed responsibly.
Does Medicare pay for ongoing dementia caregiving at home?
Medicare generally does not pay for ongoing custodial personal care, supervision, homemaking, or 24-hour care when those are the only needs. Medicare may cover qualifying skilled home health or hospice services under specific rules. Families should verify their exact coverage with Medicare or their plan.
How do we start dementia care with SILK?
Call SILK with the exact service address, what has changed, the current daily routine, mobility and personal-care needs, wandering or behavior concerns, the requested schedule, household conditions, payment source, and desired timing. Susan or Ehren will discuss fit, availability, authorization, assessment, and the next responsible step.
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