What should a family do first after a dementia diagnosis in Tennessee?
Put legal authority in place while your parent can still sign: a durable power of attorney for finances, a power of attorney for health care (an advance directive), and an updated will, then make sure doctors and banks have copies.
Without those documents, a family may later need a court conservatorship. For adults with no one to act for them, the Aging Commission of the Mid-South manages the District Conservator and Public Guardianship Program. A Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) form records treatment wishes in a way that follows the person across care settings in Tennessee.
How do we keep a parent with dementia safe at home?
Address driving, medications, cooking and wandering in that order: arrange a driving evaluation, lock up and dispense medications, add automatic stove shut-offs, and use door alarms or a location device if your parent has started to get lost.
Adult day care can give structure and supervision during the day, and TennCare CHOICES Groups 2 and 3 cover adult day care for eligible members. Caregiver support matters as much as equipment; the Aging Commission of the Mid-South lists caregiver services among its programs.
When does a parent with dementia need a secured memory care unit?
When exit-seeking or wandering makes an unlocked setting unsafe, or when the person can no longer evacuate on their own in an emergency; Tennessee ACLF secured units admit residents after an evaluation by a physician, a registered nurse and a family member or advocate.
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 Tennessee's secured unit rules and the memory care directory.
What will memory care cost, and who pays?
No published memory care median exists for Tennessee; secured units are priced above the same building's assisted living rate, against a statewide assisted living median of about $5,595 a month, so get written quotes.
VA Aid and Attendance and long-term care insurance can help. TennCare CHOICES can pay for ACLF services, including in a secured unit, for eligible members if the facility participates, with room and board paid by the member. Nursing homes with secured or Alzheimer's beds are the TennCare Group 1 option when nursing needs grow.
Sources include Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. chapters 0720-26, 0720-21 and 0720-18, Health Facilities Commission and TennCare pages, CareScout and VA rate tables as cited above; see our editorial standards.
