In-Home Dementia and Alzheimer’s Care in White Bear Lake, MN
Comfort Keepers provides personalized, non-medical in-home dementia and Alzheimer’s care for seniors, veterans and adults with disabilities in White Bear Lake, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, Chisago City and surrounding Minnesota communities. Caregivers help with personal care, meals, mobility, companionship, supervision and familiar routines so clients can remain at home as safely and independently as possible.
What Is In-Home Dementia Care?
In-home dementia care provides personalized assistance to someone living with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia without requiring the person to move from home. Depending on the care plan, services may include personal care, companionship, meal preparation, supervision, transportation, household assistance and respite for family caregivers.
The goal is to focus on what the person can still do while respectfully assisting with tasks that have become difficult or unsafe.
What Makes Comfort Keepers’ Dementia Care Different?
Our local dementia care approach combines meaningful engagement, thoughtful caregiver matching, home-safety awareness and flexible care planning. Services are personalized around each client’s abilities, routines, interests, personality and family situation.
Interactive Caregiving® and Meaningful Engagement
Interactive Caregiving® means doing things with a client—not simply doing everything for them. Caregivers encourage clients to participate in familiar activities at a level that is safe and comfortable.
Activities may include:
- Listening to favorite music
- Looking through family photographs
- Folding laundry or sorting familiar household items
- Helping prepare a favorite meal
- Completing an ability-appropriate puzzle
- Working on a familiar hobby
- Taking a supervised walk
- Calling or visiting family members
- Attending a community or faith-based activity
These familiar activities can encourage participation, connection and a sense of purpose. Activities are selected according to the client’s interests, abilities, energy and comfort level.
Thoughtful Caregiver Matching
Comfort and trust are especially important when someone is living with memory loss. Our scheduling team considers the client’s care needs, personality, communication preferences, interests and schedule when selecting caregivers.
Caregiver consistency is prioritized whenever scheduling allows. Seeing familiar caregivers can also help the care team learn the client’s routines, preferences, communication cues and common sources of anxiety.
If a caregiver match does not feel right, families should let us know. Open communication helps us make appropriate adjustments.
Home-Safety Awareness
Dementia can affect judgment, balance, orientation and a person’s ability to recognize potential danger. During the initial assessment and ongoing visits, our team may identify concerns such as:
- Cluttered or poorly lit walkways
- Loose rugs and other trip hazards
- Difficulty using stairs
- Unsafe appliance use
- Missed meals or inadequate hydration
- Confusion about medications
- Wandering or attempts to leave home
- Difficulty bathing or using the bathroom
- Increasing problems with walking or transfers
Depending on the authorized care plan and schedule, caregivers can provide supervision, reminders, redirection and hands-on assistance intended to reduce—not eliminate—risks associated with confusion, falls or wandering.
The CDC’s fall-prevention guidance recommends removing trip hazards, improving lighting and installing appropriate grab bars and stairway handrails.
Flexible Care Plans
Dementia care needs may change over time. Comfort Keepers provides flexible scheduling that may range from part-time assistance to overnight or continuous 24-hour shift care, depending on the client’s assessment, location and caregiver availability.
The care team communicates with the client, authorized family members and caregivers. When a client’s condition, mobility, routine or family support changes, the appropriate team members can review the care plan and recommend adjustments.
Personalized Dementia Care Begins With an In-Home Assessment
Before care begins, a Client Care Coordinator meets with the client and family in the home. This allows us to understand the person—not only the diagnosis.
The assessment may cover the client’s:
- Health concerns and current abilities
- Daily routines and preferred schedule
- Personal care and mobility needs
- Favorite foods, music, hobbies and activities
- Communication style and personality
- Situations that may cause confusion or anxiety
- Fall, wandering and household safety concerns
- Family support and caregiver responsibilities
- Goals for remaining safely at home
We use this information to develop a personalized care plan. When nursing or more complex support is needed, private duty nursing services may be assessed and provided separately when appropriate.
Complete Range of Dementia Home Care Services
Each care plan is developed around the client’s assessed needs. Available services may include the following.
Dementia Support and Companionship
- Meaningful conversation and companionship
- Assistance maintaining familiar daily routines
- Supervision and safety awareness
- Calm, respectful communication
- Reassurance and redirection during periods of confusion
- Participation in hobbies and familiar activities
- Accompaniment to family and community activities
- Respite care for family caregivers
Personal Care
- Bathing and showering assistance
- Grooming and personal hygiene
- Dressing assistance
- Toileting and incontinence care
- Positioning and transfer assistance
- Supervised walking and mobility support
Meals and Household Assistance
- Meal planning and preparation
- Grocery shopping and errands
- Encouragement to eat and drink regularly
- Light housekeeping
- Laundry and linen changes
- Organization of frequently used household items
Transportation and Appointments
- Transportation to medical appointments
- Accompaniment during approved errands
- Transportation to senior centers
- Support attending community and family activities
Daily Reminders
Caregivers can provide medication reminders and encourage regular meals and hydration when these services are included in the care plan. Caregivers do not diagnose conditions, prescribe medications or replace a physician’s medical direction.
What Is the Difference Between Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease?
Dementia is an umbrella term for changes in memory, thinking, reasoning or behavior that become significant enough to interfere with everyday life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia among older adults.
Other forms include:
- Vascular dementia
- Lewy body dementia
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Mixed dementia, in which more than one type of dementia-related brain change is present
Dementia is not a normal part of aging. New or worsening memory problems should be discussed with a qualified healthcare professional. Medication side effects, infections, vitamin deficiencies and other medical conditions can sometimes cause symptoms that resemble dementia.
Learn more from the National Institute on Aging’s guide to dementia.
When Might a Family Need Dementia Home Care?
It may be time to consider in-home dementia care when a loved one:
- Forgets meals, medications or appointments
- Repeats questions or becomes increasingly confused
- Has difficulty bathing, dressing or using the bathroom
- Gets lost in familiar places
- Leaves appliances on or creates other household safety concerns
- Experiences increasing confusion later in the day
- Is isolated or no longer participates in favorite activities
- Needs more supervision than family can consistently provide
- Requires help returning home after hospitalization or rehabilitation
- Has a spouse or family caregiver who is becoming exhausted
- Wants to remain at home but needs additional assistance to do so
Families do not have to wait for an emergency. Beginning with a smaller amount of assistance may give the client time to become comfortable with the caregiver and the new routine.
Respite Care for Family Caregivers
Caring for someone with dementia can be meaningful, but it can also become physically and emotionally demanding. Family caregivers may gradually become responsible for personal care, meals, transportation, appointments, supervision and nighttime concerns.
Respite care provides temporary support while a family caregiver:
- Rests or attends to personal health
- Goes to work
- Runs errands
- Attends appointments
- Spends time with other family members
- Takes a planned break from caregiving responsibilities
Professional home care does not replace the family’s role. It provides another layer of support around both the person living with dementia and the people who care about them.
Dementia Home Care for Veterans
Comfort Keepers works with authorized Department of Veterans Affairs programs to provide homemaker and home health aide services to eligible veterans.
The VA determines:
- Whether a veteran is eligible
- Which services are medically authorized
- The number of approved care hours
- Whether services are available locally
- Whether a copayment applies
Qualifying veterans or surviving spouses may also be eligible for pension-related Aid and Attendance benefits that can help offset eligible care expenses. Aid and Attendance is different from VA-authorized Community Care and does not necessarily cover the full cost of home care.
Comfort Keepers can explain the services we provide, but only the VA can determine benefits and authorize VA-funded care. Families may also consult a VA social worker or an accredited veterans service professional.
Learn more about Comfort Keepers home care for veterans and the official VA Homemaker and Home Health Aide program.
Local Dementia Care in White Bear Lake and Chisago County
Our local Comfort Keepers offices provide in-home Alzheimer’s and dementia care throughout the northeast Twin Cities and Chisago County regions.
White Bear Lake Area
The White Bear Lake office serves:
- White Bear Lake
- Shoreview
- Vadnais Heights
- North Oaks
- Hugo
- Forest Lake
- Surrounding communities
White Bear Lake office
1310 Highway 96 E
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Call 651-789-0317
Chisago County Area
The Chisago City office serves:
- Chisago City
- Lindstrom
- Wyoming
- Stacy
- Forest Lake
- Surrounding Chisago County communities
Chisago City office
11185 Lake Boulevard
Chisago City, MN 55013
Call 651-789-0317
Service availability may vary by location, assessment and caregiver availability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone with dementia continue living at home?
Many people living with dementia can remain at home when they have an appropriate combination of family involvement, professional caregiving, medical oversight and safety precautions. The right arrangement depends on the person’s symptoms, mobility, behaviors, home environment and need for supervision.
Is in-home dementia care medical care?
Most Comfort Keepers dementia services are non-medical and focus on daily activities, personal care, companionship, supervision and household support. Private duty nursing may be available separately when assessed and authorized. Diagnosis and medical treatment remain the responsibility of qualified healthcare professionals.
Can caregivers help with bathing and toileting?
Yes. Depending on the care plan, personal care may include bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, incontinence care, mobility and transfer assistance.
Can Comfort Keepers prevent someone from falling or wandering?
No home care provider can guarantee that a fall or wandering incident will never occur. Depending on the care schedule, caregivers can provide supervision, reminders, redirection and assistance intended to reduce risk. Families may need additional safety measures or a higher level of care as dementia progresses.
Is in-home memory care the same as residential memory care?
No. In-home memory care brings caregivers into the person’s existing residence, allowing the client to remain in familiar surroundings. Residential memory care provides housing, meals, supervision and dementia support in a dedicated community.
The appropriate choice depends on the person’s safety, medical needs, behaviors, home environment, family resources and required level of supervision.
Can Comfort Keepers provide overnight or 24-hour dementia care?
Depending on the assessment and caregiver availability, care may be scheduled for part-time visits, longer daytime shifts, overnight assistance, or continuous 24-hour shifts. Twenty-four-hour home care generally involves multiple caregivers working scheduled shifts.
Can veterans use VA benefits for Comfort Keepers home care?
Some eligible veterans may receive authorized homemaker or home health aide services through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA determines eligibility, approved hours, service availability, and potential copayments. Qualifying veterans and surviving spouses may also be eligible for pension-related Aid and Attendance benefits.
How do families begin dementia care?
The process begins with a complimentary consultation and in-home assessment. A Client Care Coordinator discusses the client’s routines, abilities, personal care needs, home environment, family support and preferred schedule. The team then develops a personalized care plan.
Schedule a Complimentary In-Home Care Assessment
You do not have to manage every aspect of dementia care alone. Our local Comfort Keepers team can answer your questions, explain available services, and help develop a care plan around your loved one’s current needs and routines.
Call 651-789-0317 to discuss in-home dementia and Alzheimer’s care in White Bear Lake, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, Chisago City or a surrounding Minnesota community.
Additional Dementia Resources
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