“Memory care” is a regulated claim in Texas
Memory care is not a license type in Texas. A facility that advertises or markets specialized Alzheimer's or dementia care must hold a separate Alzheimer's certification, and to be certified it must be licensed Type B. Certification is verified by on-site health and Life Safety Code inspection and caps the maximum number of residents.
This is the single most useful thing an Austin family can know before touring. Any community can paint a hallway, call a wing “the neighborhood,” and market to families of someone with dementia. Only a community holding an Alzheimer's certification on a Type B license has been inspected against the physical plant standards that certification requires.
Certification is not required to advertise medication reminders, escort service, or care for short-term memory loss. So a community can advertise those specific services without holding certification at all.
Ask for the certificate by name. Not the license — the Alzheimer's certification. A community that holds one will produce it without hesitation.
Source: 26 TAC 553.27 full text
What certification actually requires
Certification is not paperwork. A community must meet the physical plant requirements for Alzheimer's units, comply with the construction and life-safety subchapters, and pass both an on-site health inspection and a Life Safety Code inspection. The certificate then caps the maximum number of residents the unit may serve.
The marketing gap
An uncertified community can still legally advertise a great deal. Medication reminders, escort service, and care for short-term memory loss all sit outside the certification requirement. A brochure can therefore describe something that reads like memory care without the community holding certification at all.
This is not necessarily bad faith. Plenty of good assisted living communities care well for residents with mild cognitive impairment and do not market dementia care. The problem arises when a family assumes certification because the language sounded like it.
The one question
May I see your Alzheimer's certification? Not the licence. A certified community produces it without hesitation, because it is the thing they invested in.
