Memory care special care units, Richmond region

Which Richmond-area assisted living facilities have licensed special care units?

44 of the 128 licensed assisted living facilities in the region list a special care unit on their VDSS record -- 20 in Henrico County, 16 in Chesterfield County, 4 in Hanover County, 1 in Richmond, 1 in Petersburg, 1 in Colonial Heights, 1 in Hopewell -- and together those facilities are licensed for 5,096 residents (VDSS does not publish how many beds sit inside each unit).

In Virginia, memory care is not a separate license. A special care unit (the regulation calls it a safe, secure environment) is a self-contained unit inside a licensed assisted living facility for residents with serious cognitive impairment from dementia who cannot recognize danger or protect themselves.

What staffing does Virginia require in a special care unit?

Outside night hours, a special care unit with 20 or fewer residents must have at least two direct care staff awake and on duty in the unit, plus one more for every additional 10 residents or portion thereof (22VAC40-73-1130 A). At night the unit must have at least two awake direct care staff for up to 22 residents, three for 23-32, four for 33-40, and four plus one per additional 10 residents above 40 (22VAC40-73-1130 C).

The administrator must complete at least 12 hours of cognitive-impairment training within three months of starting, and direct care staff working in the unit at least 10 hours within four months (22VAC40-73-1140).

Those are floors, not targets. Ask each facility for its scheduled staffing on the unit at night and on weekends, and compare it with the census on the day you visit.