What is the difference between assisted living and memory care in Kentucky?
In Kentucky, memory care means an Assisted Living Community with Dementia Care (ALC-DC) license and a secured dementia care unit staffed only by dementia-trained workers; ordinary assisted living (ALC or ALC-BH) has no secured unit and no dementia-training mandate beyond standard staff training.
Both are assisted living under KRS 194A, both require residents to be ambulatory as Kentucky defines it, and both are inspected by OIG on the same 12- or 24-month cycle. The ALC-DC license adds the dementia-specific services in KRS 194A.7052, the training hours in KRS 194A.7205 and the staffing rule in KRS 194A.7203.
When does a Louisville parent with dementia need memory care rather than assisted living?
Exit-seeking or wandering, getting lost in a familiar building, needing constant cueing to eat or bathe, or behavior that disrupts other residents are the usual signs a parent needs a secured ALC-DC unit rather than standard assisted living.
Many people with early dementia live well in ordinary assisted living, especially an ALC-BH that can manage medications. The question to ask a community is not “do you take dementia?” but “at what point would you issue a move-out notice, and do you have a secured unit at this address?” Several Louisville campuses hold an ALC-BH and an ALC-DC license at the same street address, which allows an in-building move.
Does memory care cost more than assisted living in Louisville?
Usually, but no published figure proves it: CareScout's 2025 Kentucky assisted living median is about $5,290 a month, and CareScout does not survey memory care at all, so the only reliable memory care price is a written quote from each ALC-DC community.
Ask whether the secured unit uses all-inclusive pricing or levels of care, and whether the move from the assisted living side to the secured side resets the rent.
How many memory care communities are there around Louisville?
Kentucky OIG's October 2026 directory lists 28 Assisted Living Community with Dementia Care (ALC-DC) licenses in the seven Louisville-area counties, 24 of them in Jefferson County, with 701 licensed units between them.
The memory care roster lists each ALC-DC license with its unit count and city, and the assisted living roster shows which of those addresses also hold an ALC or ALC-BH license.
At a glance
| Kentucky memory care (ALC-DC) is | Kentucky assisted living (ALC/ALC-BH) is | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | A secured dementia care unit | Open, unsecured apartments |
| Staff training | 8 hours orientation, 16 hours specialized, 8 hours/year | General assisted living training |
| Required services | Individual activity plans, behavior evaluation, family support every 6 months | ADL help, meals, activities, medication assistance |
| Published cost | None anywhere | Kentucky median about $5,290/month (2025) |
Sources include KRS Chapter 194A, 902 KAR 20:480, Kentucky CHFS and DMS pages, CareScout and VA rate tables as cited above; see our editorial standards.
