Memory care in the Memphis area

What is memory care in Tennessee?

Memory care in Tennessee is care in a secured unit, a distinct part of a licensed ACLF or nursing home where residents are kept from leaving except for life safety, designed for people with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias who are at risk of wandering.

There is no separate memory care license. The Health Facilities Commission's bed report lists secured beds for each licensed building, which is the best evidence that a unit exists.

What do Tennessee's secured unit rules require?

A pre-admission evaluation by a physician, a registered nurse and a family member or advocate, quarterly reviews of each placement, at least one awake attendant on the unit 24 hours a day, a daily staffing record, and annual dementia training for all unit staff (0720-26-.08(9)).

The rule sets no numeric staffing ratio beyond the single awake attendant, so overnight staffing is the most important question to ask.

What does memory care cost in Memphis?

No memory care median is published for Tennessee or Memphis; expect a premium above an ACLF's standard rate, against a 2025 Tennessee assisted living median of about $5,595 a month.

TennCare CHOICES ACLF services can apply in secured units of participating facilities. Nursing homes with secured or Alzheimer's beds serve residents whose nursing needs exceed what an ACLF can meet.

Where are licensed memory care units around Memphis?

The Health Facilities Commission's October 2026 bed report shows 24 of the 35 licensed ACLFs in Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties running secured units, with 774 secured beds between them, plus 7 nursing homes reporting 464 secured or Alzheimer's beds.

See the memory care directory or memory care in Memphis by area.

What should Memphis families ask a memory care unit first?

Ask how many secured beds the building reports to the state, how many staff are on the unit overnight, who sits on the pre-admission evaluation team, when quarterly reviews happen, and how many hours of dementia training unit staff receive each year.

Also ask how the unit handles exit-seeking, falls and sundowning, and at what point a resident would need to move to a nursing home.

Where is memory care licensed across the Memphis area?

Here is how the Health Facilities Commission's records distribute memory care across Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties; agencies have no bed count.