September’s World Alzheimer’s Month invites our industry to do more than raise awareness. It challenges us to deliver better outcomes for people living with dementia and for the families who love them.
At Assisted Living Locators, we are marking the month with a nationwide #PlacementMatters campaign to spotlight how personalized, dementia-informed guidance can preserve dignity, safety, and family memories at every stage of the disease.
For many families, an Alzheimer’s diagnosis feels like falling into a maze — specialists, screenings, safety concerns, caregiver strain, financial questions and an overwhelming array of residential and in-home options. The first fork in the road also is one of the most consequential: where — and how — care should happen next.
When that decision is made through trial and error, the human costs are real: avoidable hospitalizations, caregiver burnout, premature placement or transitions that come too late. The data are sobering — global dementia cases are projected to triple by 2050 (although some researchers have said the increase will be smaller); regardless, the solution begins close to home: informed, local and ethically grounded placement guidance that fits the person, not the market.
Placement is care. It is not a referral transaction at the end of the journey; it is a clinical, social and financial intervention at the beginning of one. The choice of staying at home with supports, moving to assisted living or transitioning to memory care shapes everything that follows: medication adherence, safety, engagement, caregiver resilience and the likelihood of disruptive transfers. When advisers are dementia-care trained, locally embedded and accountable for the quality of their recommendations, families make earlier, better-matched decisions — and communities receive residents whose needs and goals align with their programs. That is value-based care in practice, not in slogan.
Throughout September, our dementia care-certified advisers across more than 150 franchise locations are sharing short, real-world stories — “Care Sherpa” moments — illustrating how right-sized plans protect what matters most. Some stories end with aging in place and practical home modifications. Others involve timed transitions to assisted living with daytime memory support and nighttime safety monitoring. Still others map a path that includes palliative care or hospice, coordinated with legal and financial steps families often postpone. Those vignettes make a simple point: placement is personal, and the right answer is the one that fits the person’s abilities, risks, preferences and resources — today and six months from now.
In my previous column for McKnight’s Senior Living, I argued that value-based senior care is not a fleeting trend but a legacy approach rooted in trust, transparency and measurable outcomes. #PlacementMatters builds on that foundation. It reframes “placement” as a longitudinal care decision we can measure and continuously improve.
Consider three practical metrics systems can adopt now: (1) 90-day stability (no emergency transitions), (2) caregiver burden scores pre- and post-transition, and (3) participation in purposeful engagement (documented hours of activities appropriate to cognitive stage). Those indicators move us beyond occupancy and toward well-being, giving communities and partners shared targets for success.
What providers can do this month
- Invite an early conversation. The earlier families engage, the more options they preserve. Add “placement planning” to your education calendar and promote it alongside memory screenings. Normalize the idea that where care happens is part of the clinical plan, not a last-minute scramble.
- Audit for “memory-care readiness.” Use a quick readiness checklist: elopement risks and mitigation, medication management capacity, nighttime supervision needs, dining support, and cognitive-stage-appropriate programming. This clarifies whether the safest near-term path is enhanced supports at home or a transition to a specialized setting.
- Strengthen ethical referral pathways. Families deserve guidance from professionals who are dementia-trained, locally knowledgeable and transparent about how they are compensated. Require advisers to attest to training, community familiarity and outcome monitoring. Aligning incentives with fit and stability — not speed — protects residents and reputations alike.
- Co-design transitions. When a move is appropriate, build a short, written transition plan: personal history cues for staff members, communication preferences, calming strategies, fall-prevention notes and day-one engagement touchpoints. Treat move-in like a clinical handoff, not a logistics task. Families feel seen; teams avoid avoidable crises.
- Tell better stories. This month, contribute to #PlacementMatters by sharing anonymized stories of good transitions — what worked, what surprised you and what you’d change. Narrative is how families learn; it’s also how teams spread practices that stick.
The campaign also underscores an often-missed truth: stability is an outcome worth paying for. A well-matched home setting reduces behavioral triggers, lowers fall risk and supports consistent routines — each a protective factor against emergency department use and hospitalizations. Conversely, a poorly matched environment increases distress, accelerates decline and strains families and staff members.
In financial terms, right-sized placement is a cost-avoidance strategy. In human terms, it is mercy.
I recognize that September will come and go; hashtags fade. But the families we meet will remember whether we turned confusion into clarity and motion into momentum. Our advisers are trained and certified across our system to meet that moment, pairing dementia-informed assessment with local insight and a bias for practical solutions. That is why we are elevating their stories this month: to make visible the quiet work that keeps people safe and families intact.
If there is a single message I hope World Alzheimer’s Month carries into the rest of the year, it is this: placement is the first treatment decision after diagnosis. Done well, it buys time — quality time — for connection, autonomy and joy.
As leaders across senior living, we can insist that placement decisions be individualized, ethical and accountable to outcomes. We can make it easier for families to start early, plan confidently and live better with the realities of dementia.
That is why #PlacementMatters — this month, and every month that follows.
