How Small-Scale Assisted Living Facilities Provide Better Alzheimer’s Care

Yann Cazavet • November 25, 2025

Why Families in Fenton, Michigan Choose Tanglewood Assisted Living Facility for Their Loved Ones

When a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, families quickly face an overwhelming amount of information, choices, and emotions. One of the most important decisions is selecting the right assisted living environment—one that provides safety, dignity, comfort, and truly compassionate care.


While big institutional senior living centers may appear impressive on the surface, an increasing number of families in Michigan are discovering the unique advantages of small-scale, boutique-style assisted living facilities like Tanglewood Assisted Living Facility in Fenton. In fact, intimate Alzheimer’s care homes consistently outperform large facilities in personal attention, quality of life, caregiver consistency, and individualized support.

Below is a detailed look at why a smaller model is often the superior choice—and why Tanglewood continues to stand out as one of the best Alzheimer’s care options in the region.


A Human-Scale Environment Designed for Alzheimer’s and Memory Care


Large institutional buildings—with long hallways, numerous wings, and high resident capacity—can be overstimulating, confusing, and anxiety-inducing for individuals living with dementia. In contrast, small-scale assisted living homes create a familiar, calm, and manageable environment that reduces stress and helps residents feel grounded.

At Tanglewood Assisted Living Facility, our environment is intentionally designed around:

  • A warm, residential feeling rather than a medical or corporate atmosphere
  • Smaller common areas that encourage connection rather than overwhelming crowds
  • Predictable routines that help residents maintain comfort and orientation
  • Easy-to-navigate spaces to support independence and prevent wandering

This intimate setting allows residents to feel at ease, which is a critical factor in slowing the progression of dementia-related agitation, anxiety, and confusion.


More Caregivers, Fewer Residents: The Quality-of-Care Advantage


One of the biggest differences between a small facility like Tanglewood and a large institutional center is the caregiver-to-resident ratio.

Most large communities operate with ratios of 1 caregiver for every 12–20 residents, depending on the shift. This is not ideal for Alzheimer’s care, which requires constant supervision, compassion, redirection, and hands-on assistance.

At Tanglewood Assisted Living Facility, our ratio is significantly higher than the industry standard. We consistently maintain:

  • 3 caregivers on-site for just 12 residents
  • Often 4 people on duty including the manager
  • Occasional presence of the owner or assistant manager as additional support

This means residents receive continuous, attentive care, not rushed or task-focused interactions. Our caregivers know every resident personally—how they communicate, what calms them, their routines, preferences, triggers, and histories. This is something large facilities simply cannot replicate.


Personalized Care Plans Instead of One-Size-Fits-All Programs


In many large institutions, care is standardized around corporate procedures and efficiency requirements. As a result, Alzheimer’s residents may receive care that is functional but not personal.

Tanglewood offers a different philosophy.

Every resident receives an individualized care plan tailored to their stage of dementia, mobility level, medical needs, personality, food preferences, sleep patterns, and daily habits. Our team meets regularly with families, medical professionals, and caregivers to adjust care as the resident’s needs evolve.

This individualized approach supports:

  • Improved emotional stability
  • Maximum independence
  • Reduced behavioral episodes
  • Better engagement and social connection
  • More meaningful daily experiences

This level of personalization is only possible in a smaller environment.


Familiarity and Stability: The Key to Alzheimer’s Well-Being


Residents with Alzheimer’s thrive when surrounded by familiar faces and predictable routines. Large facilities often suffer from:

  • High caregiver turnover
  • Constant rotation of staff between floors
  • Limited continuity in who interacts with residents
  • High resident turnover and movement

These disruptions can lead to confusion, anxiety, and emotional setbacks.

At Tanglewood Assisted Living Facility, families appreciate that:

  • The team is stable, long-term, and deeply committed
  • The same caregivers see the same residents every day
  • The atmosphere feels like a family, not a corporation
  • Relationships and trust naturally develop over time

For someone with memory loss, this kind of stability is therapeutic.


Family Communication That Actually Works


One of the top frustrations families experience with big facilities is lack of communication or delayed information when something happens.

A small home like Tanglewood ensures that families remain fully informed:

  • Direct communication with the owner or manager
  • Immediate updates on health changes
  • Transparent care reporting
  • Availability for questions every day
  • A true partnership approach to resident well-being

Families often say that what they appreciate most at Tanglewood is the peace of mind—the feeling that their loved one is truly seen, known, and cared for.


Meaningful Activities, Not Mass Programming


Large communities often run big group programs that are not suitable for most Alzheimer’s residents, who require smaller, calmer, and purposeful engagement.

At Tanglewood Assisted Living Facility, activities are tailored to the individual and delivered in small, warm settings—helping residents stay active mentally, physically, and emotionally.

We focus on:

  • Music therapy
  • Gentle exercise
  • Sensory stimulation
  • Outdoor time and nature
  • Conversations and reminiscence
  • Arts, crafts, and seasonal activities
  • Simple everyday tasks that give purpose

Engagement is never forced; it is compassionate and adapted to each resident’s abilities.


A True Home, Not an Institution


Families often choose Tanglewood because it feels like a real home—a place residents recognize as safe, comfortable, and familiar. The atmosphere is warm and human-centered, not clinical.

Residents enjoy:

  • Home-cooked meals
  • A cozy living room
  • Personal attention
  • Warm friendships
  • A peaceful country setting
  • Consistent caregivers who feel like extended family

This sense of belonging is one of the most powerful elements of Alzheimer’s care.


Why Tanglewood Assisted Living Facility Is Different


Tanglewood is proud to be among the few 12-resident boutique Alzheimer’s care homes in Michigan offering:

  • High caregiver staffing levels
  • Exceptional individualized care
  • A stable and experienced team
  • A peaceful, intimate environment
  • A family-oriented approach
  • Transparency, communication, and trust
  • Specialization in Alzheimer’s and memory care
  • A genuine commitment to dignity, compassion, and quality of life

For families looking for the best Alzheimer’s care in Fenton, Linden, Holly, Grand Blanc, or the surrounding Michigan areas, Tanglewood is a top choice.


Final Thoughts: Small-Scale Living, Big-Hearted Care



Choosing an assisted living facility is one of the most emotional and important decisions a family will ever make. While large, corporate facilities may offer size, amenities, and branding, they often lack the warmth, consistency, and caregiver attention that Alzheimer’s residents need most.

Small-scale, specialized homes like Tanglewood Assisted Living Facility deliver a level of care, compassion, and human connection that big institutions simply cannot match.

If you’re searching for Alzheimer’s care where your loved one will be known, understood, and treated like family—not a room number—Tanglewood is ready to welcome you.

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An older woman holding a cellphone with a younger woman leaning over her shoulder.

Tips for Talking with Memory Loss Patients

February 6, 2025
At Tanglewood Assisted Living, we practice the five foot rule with memory loss patients. If you wish to be understood by a memory loss patient, you should be within five feet of that person when you speak to them. Most memory loss patients simply cannot process words that are shouted at them from across the room. In order to communicate effectively you should get close, make eye contact and begin by using the person’s first name. If the patient is sitting down, you should not stand over them and talk down to them. When you stand up, you assume a dominate posture which makes people feel uncomfortable. Instead, kneel down so you are at the same eye level as the patient and you will immediately put them at ease. Touch is important to memory loss patients. While you’re speaking, hold their hand or put your hand on their arm or shoulder. Be generous with hugs and handshakes. At Tanglewood, the staff is trained repeatedly to maintain a calm and pleasant tone of voice. Memory loss patients have not lost their ability to appreciate tone of voice and if you become upset you will only make a bad situation worse. Some patients will be depressed or mad at the world. With these you should commiserate. Offer compassion, sympathy and condolences. Other patients may be mad at you. They may accuse you of all sorts of atrocities. With these folks you should simply apologize and say you’ll try to do better. You should never get mad. Always remain calm and pleasant. If you do feel yourself becoming upset, walk away. Make sure the patient is safe and walk away. Come back in ten minutes and the patient’s attitude will have changed completely. Ask only simple questions of a memory loss patient - questions which require a yes or no answer. Don’t ask “would you like lemonade or ice tea?” Even such mildly complex questions generate confusion. Ask only yes or no questions. The best chance of having a coherent conversation with a middle or late stage memory loss patient is to talk about events that happened long ago. Such very old memories usually remain intact and the memory loss patient will feel comfortable talking about them. If possible, bring photographs from the patient’s younger days and talk about the people and places in the pictures. Finally, musical memories also remain intact. A patient will remember and enjoy the lyrics and melodies of music they’ve heard throughout their lives and especially music they heard as a child. They will usually enjoy and sing along with hymns and pop music songs they heard in their youth.
A woman is sitting on a bench in a park next to an elderly man in a wheelchair.

Incontinence with Memory Loss Patients

February 6, 2025
Unfortunately, almost all memory loss patients will become incontinent. At first they will have an occasional accident but eventually they will forget when and how to use the bathroom and will need to wear an undergarment all the time. While nothing can prevent this from happening, there are some techniques which can delay incontinence and cut down on the number of accidents. Prompting: Accidents often occur because the memory loss patient simply waited too long before heading for the bathroom. If a caregiver will prompt the patient every two to three hours, by asking if they need to use the bathroom, the number of accidents can be reduced significantly. If the memory loss patient continually says they don’t need to use the bathroom, the caregiver should respond with “let’s give it a try” and help the patient to the bathroom. By the time you get to the bathroom, the memory loss patient may suddenly realize they have to go. An old trick which may help is to sit the patient on the toilet and run water. Bedside Commodes: Many accident happen at night. Often a sleepy resident will have trouble getting to the bathroom in time. Putting a portable commode next to the bed and keeping a night light in the room will help this situation. Washable Protective Pads: An incontinent patient can damage or destroy furniture, mattresses and carpeting. A caregiver may have to remove and wash bed linen every morning. Even the best undergarments are subject to leaks. If you have a loved one in the house who suffers with incontinence, you should cover your furniture with washable protective pads, often called “chuck” pads. Chuck pads should be used to cover furniture and mattresses. Even mattresses with waterproof mattress pads should also have an extra large chuck pad underneath. These pads are now available in a variety of colors to match the furniture. Undergarments: Some undergarments pull up and down like underwear and are useful in the early stages of incontinence when the patient still uses the bathroom by themselves and the undergarment is mainly to protect against accidents. To change this type of undergarment however, the caregiver must remove the patients shoes and pants to put on a new undergarment. This inconvenience can be avoided by using briefs which are secured on the sides with elastic bands and buttons. These can be changed without removing the patient’s pants.
One older man and one younger man sitting together at a table looking at a laptop.

Important Legal Documents for Memory Loss Patients

February 6, 2025
Memory loss in the elderly, whether brought on by Alzheimer’s disease or some other cause, is a progressive condition, becoming worse over time. At some point in the progression of this condition an elderly patient will lose the ability to make rational decisions and someone else, usually an adult child, will have to take over responsibility for making medical and financial decisions on behalf of the memory loss patient. For this change to take place legally, quickly and inexpensively, two important documents must be signed by the elderly patient while they are still competent to make legal decisions. Medical Durable Power of Attorney A Medical Durable Power of Attorney (MDPA) is a legal document appointing someone else to speak for a patient regarding medical decisions, in the event the patient cannot speak for themselves. The document specifically names an individual, plus one or two alternates, to take charge of medical care. The document also allows a patient to specify certain types of treatment they do or do not want in the event the patient cannot speak for themselves and will not recover from their illness. Ideally, this document should be signed long before someone develops memory loss. If an elderly patient is diagnosed with memory loss and does not have a MDPA in place, the patient may still have time to sign a MDPA. Most elderly patients in the very early stages of memory loss, are still quite independent and rational and would still be considered legally competent to sign legal documents. This fact affords the memory loss patient an opportunity to execute and sign a MDPA even after being diagnosed. Once a memory loss diagnosis is made, the elderly patient and their family need to move quickly to have a MDPA executed, before the elderly patient’s competency to sign legal docments become questionable. Memory loss can progress quite rapidly in some patients and dramatic changes in abilities can occur almost overnight. The family of a patient with memory loss will be called upon to make difficult choices regarding medical care. One such choice occurs frequently with late-stage memory loss patients and provides a good example of the importance of an MDPA. Near the end of life, many memory loss patients stop eating. A patient may be hand-fed for a time but eventually the patient stops swallowing and any further attempts at hand-feeding will cause aspiration or choking. At this point the family must decide whether to connect their parent to a feeding tube or allow their loved one to pass away. With an MDPA in place, the family will not have to guess how their parent felt about such a difficult decision. The MDPA will state specifically whether the patient does or does not want such life-prolonging medical care. The MDPA accomplishes many objectives. It makes the transition of responsibility for medical decisions smooth and inexpensive, avoiding the possibility of costly and time-consuming court hearings. It allows the elderly parent to set forth in detail the type of medical treatment they do or do not wish to receive in the event they are terminally ill and cannot speak for themselves. It relieves the adult children of the burden and uncertainty of trying to guess how the parent felt about life-prolonging medical treatment. It allows the patient advocate to execute a Do-Not-Resuscitate Order to make certain the facility caring for their parent follows their parent’s wishes regarding life-prolonging medical treatment. General Durable Power of Attorney Similar to a Medical Durable Power of Attorney, a General Durable Power of Attorney (GDPA) appoints someone to act on behalf of the memory loss patient for financial and property decisions. (If the memory loss patient has a trust, the language of the trust may have the same effect as the GDPA, giving authority to a successor trustee to handle financial affairs when the memory loss patient can no longer handle such matters.) Without a GDPA (or the equivalent language in a trust,) a court hearing will be required to appoint and empower a conservator who will handle financial and property affairs for the memory loss patient. Such court hearings can be expensive. Both the Medical Durable Power of Attorney and the General Durable Power of Attorney are critical legal documents. They give effect to the wishes of the people involved and they avoid the expense and uncertainty of probate court oversight.