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Non-Medical Dementia and Alzheimer’s Care at Home

Curesa Health provides non-medical dementia and Alzheimer’s support at home across Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties. Our caregivers help with daily routines, safety and companionship so someone living with memory loss can stay in familiar surroundings for as long as that remains the right choice.

Care begins with a registered nurse reviewing where your loved one is, what tends to trigger distress, and what has worked before.

What non-medical dementia care includes

Dementia care at home is mostly ordinary support, delivered with unusual patience and consistency.
Day-to-day support may include:
  • Personal care offered in a way that protects dignity when someone can no longer manage alone
  • Keeping the daily routine steady, because predictability reduces distress
  • Cueing and prompting — breaking a task into one step at a time rather than doing it for them
  • Medication reminders — prompting only; our caregivers never administer medication
  • Meal preparation, and noticing when eating and drinking are being skipped
  • Supervision that reduces fall and wandering risk without feeling like surveillance
  • Companionship — conversation, music, photographs, walks
Every plan is built around the person, not the diagnosis.

Supporting someone through late-day agitation

Many families find confusion, restlessness and anxiety worsen in the late afternoon and evening — a pattern commonly called sundowning. It is the most exhausting part of dementia caregiving, and it arrives at the hour when family caregivers are least able to absorb it. Scheduling a caregiver specifically for those hours is one of the most effective uses of home care in dementia.
  • Keep the late afternoon calm and low-stimulation
  • Close curtains before dusk so the change in light is less abrupt
  • Keep the evening routine identical night to night
  • Have someone present who redirects gently rather than arguing with the confusion

Familiar rooms do work no caregiver can replicate

Why familiar surroundings and familiar faces matter

Someone with memory loss leans heavily on environmental cues — the same chair, the same mug, the same order to the morning. A familiar home does work no caregiver can replicate.

The same small team

We keep the assigned team as small as we can. A new face every week undoes the benefit of everything else.

A written care plan

An RN-built plan every caregiver works from, revisited as things change.

Home safety

Practical room-by-room changes — see our home safety checklist.

Support for the family

Many families add a standing respite block so the primary caregiver can keep going.

As needs increase

Some move to 24-hour or live-in care as supervision needs grow.

Starting earlier helps

Introducing a caregiver before a crisis makes the transition far easier.
Consistency is the part families notice most.

What we do not provide

Curesa Health is a licensed Home Care Organization (HCO). Our dementia support is non-medical, and we would rather be clear about the boundary than have a family discover it at a difficult moment.
To be clear:
  • We do not diagnose or treat dementia
  • We do not administer medication
  • We do not provide skilled nursing or behavioural health treatment
  • Diagnosis and medical management come from a physician or home health agency. Our home care vs home health guide explains which is which.
We work alongside those teams rather than replacing them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do your caregivers have dementia training?
Yes. Caregivers are screened, trained and supervised, with dementia-specific training for those assigned to memory care clients. See our caregivers.
My parent gets upset and refuses help. Can a caregiver still work with them?
Often, yes — refusal is usually about feeling managed rather than about the task. Experienced caregivers work slowly, build familiarity before pushing, and adapt. It can take several visits to settle, and we plan for that rather than treating it as failure.
At what stage should we bring in home care?
Earlier than most families do. Introducing a caregiver while your loved one can still take part in the relationship is far easier than doing it during a crisis. See signs your loved one may need home care.
Can you help with wandering?
We provide supervision and support home-safety changes that reduce the risk. We are not a locked facility, and if wandering has become severe we will say honestly when the safest setting is no longer the home.
Does Medicare cover dementia care at home?
Medicare does not cover non-medical home care, including the dementia support described here. Most families use private pay or long-term care insurance — see paying for home care.
Which areas do you serve?
Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties. That includes home care in Santa Cruz, home care in Aptos, Capitola, Scotts Valley, Soquel, Watsonville, Monterey, Salinas, San Jose and Los Gatos.
Do people with dementia do better at home or in a facility?
For most people in the earlier and middle stages, home is better: familiar surroundings do memory work that no setting can replace, and routine is easier to hold. That changes when night-time supervision needs exceed what can safely be provided, when wandering becomes severe, or when the family caregiver’s own health is failing. It is a question of stage and circumstance, not a rule, and we will give you an honest read rather than a sales answer.
Can someone with dementia be cared for at home?
Usually yes, often for years. What makes it work is consistency — the same small caregiver team, a steady routine, and a home adjusted for safety as the condition progresses. What makes it stop working is unmanaged night-time risk. See our home safety checklist for the practical changes that extend how long home remains viable.
How much does dementia care at home cost?
Our rates generally run $45 to $60 per hour, and dementia support usually sits toward the middle or upper end because it asks more of the caregiver. Medicare does not cover it. Most families use private pay or long-term care insurance — see paying for home care.
What are the signs it is time for memory care instead of home?
The common ones: wandering that has become unsafe despite locks and supervision, aggression the family cannot safely manage, night-time needs that no affordable schedule covers, or a primary caregiver whose own health is breaking down. We will tell you when we think you have reached that point. Holding someone at home past the point of safety is not loyalty to them.

Start dementia care at home

Tell us where your loved one is and what the hard hours look like. Consultations are free and there is no obligation.
Book a free consultation