Memory care on the Western Slope

Last reviewed: August 27, 2026

This page is for adult children on Colorado’s Western Slope who are trying to understand what “memory care” actually is. It is educational only. It is not medical advice, legal advice, or a recommendation of any home.

This directory is a separate business from High Desert Assisted Living in Clifton, Colorado. Jason and Laura Cheney operate both; the directory is not an official state list and is not a CDPHE, HCPF, or Medicare rating tool. Nothing on this page is a recommendation of that home. This page does not use that home as a memory-care or secure-environment example.

Memory care is a program, not a Colorado license and not a CMS license. What families usually mean by memory care in an assisted living home is a Chapter 7 Part 25 secure environment — an optional program that limits free exit — inside a licensed Assisted Living Residence. Every ALR must disclose whether it operates one. A home that does not have one cannot keep someone whose safety needs require it.

The short version

Colorado licenses Assisted Living Residences and Nursing Care Facilities. It does not issue a “memory care” license. CMS does not certify a memory-care provider type.

Before you tour, look the ALR or nursing-home license up on CDPHE Find and Compare. That tool has no memory-care filter. Ask in writing: Is this a Chapter 7 Part 25 secure environment? Ask how they restrict exit, how often they re-assess the need to stay (Part 25 requires every six months), whether one trained awake staff member is in the unit at all times (that is not a staff-to-resident ratio), and what extra dementia training staff get beyond the statewide rule that already applies to every ALR. Get the pre-move-in Part 25 disclosure and a written fee sheet.

Medicare does not pay assisted-living or custodial memory care. Do not use Medicare Care Compare to shop assisted living or standalone memory care. CDPHE says Medicare comparison sites “only contain data on Medicare facilities.”

This page names three Mesa County homes only because their official CDPHE legal names contain “memory care” or “Alzheimer.” That is name-only. It is not a bed count, not a vacancy list, and not proof those homes operate a Part 25 secure environment.

Program, not a license

Federal. CMS’s nursing-homes certification page (modified August 26, 2026) describes skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities that must meet 42 CFR Part 483, Subpart B. It does not describe a CMS memory-care provider type, certificate, or star rating.

Medicare’s long-term-care page says Medicare does not pay for long-term care. Most of that care is non-medical / custodial help (dressing, bathing, toileting). You can get that help at home, in the community, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home — and you pay all costs for those non-covered services.

Colorado. CDPHE licenses an Assisted Living Residence under Chapter 7: room and board, personal services, protective oversight, social care, and 24-hour supervision — not regular 24-hour medical or nursing care. An Alternative Care Facility (ACF) is an ALR also certified by HCPF so Medicaid may pay services. ACF is a payer certification, not a different CDPHE license and not a memory-care license. This page does not name a single controlling HCPF rule number.

CDPHE also licenses nursing care facilities under Chapter 5 — continuous or regular inpatient nursing care. A skilled nursing care facility is a nursing care facility that is federally certified by CMS. That page lists guidance for “secured neighborhoods for dementia and mental illness.” A nursing home may operate a secured dementia neighborhood under the nursing-home license. That is still not a separate memory-care license.

A brochure that says “memory care” tells you to ask which license the building holds (ALR vs nursing care facility / SNF) and whether the unit is a Chapter 7 secure environment (or a nursing-home secured neighborhood). Do not look for a CMS memory-care certificate.

What a secure environment actually is (Chapter 7 Part 25)

Source: 6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 7 (adopted January 15, 2025; effective March 17, 2025).

A secure environment (2.56) is any grounds, building or part, method, or device that prohibits free egress. An environment is secure when a resident’s right to move outside during any hours is limited.

If the home uses any method or device to limit, restrict, or prohibit free unsupervised exit, it shall comply with Part 25 (25.2).

Part 25 is optional. Marketing the words “memory care” does not, by itself, prove a home is operating a Part 25 secure environment. Ask, and ask for the written disclosure.

The home may choose to provide a secure environment. It may be the entire residence or a distinct part. The home still must follow Parts 1–24 plus Part 25 (25.1–25.3).

Every ALR — not only Part 25 homes — must tell the resident whether it operates a secure environment and what that means (11.7(G)).

Before anyone moves in (25.4)

On top of the ordinary 11.7 packet, the home shall disclose, before move-in:

admission criteria and the assessments used
the location of the secure environment and the methods of restriction
how safety is monitored indoors and in the outdoor area
any specialty services such as memory care, including a description of daily engagement opportunities

Before move-in there must also be a pre-admission assessment of appropriateness and need, including a licensed-practitioner evaluation within the previous 90 days and detailed information from family on wandering patterns and what has worked (25.5).

No one shall be required to move into a secure environment against their will unless legal authority has been established (guardianship, court order, medical durable power of attorney, health-care proxy, or other means Colorado law allows) (25.6).

A person may voluntarily agree to live there even if they do not need it. If so, the home must assure freedom of movement in and out at all times and have a signed agreement saying so (25.7).

After move-in

Re-assess the need to stay every six months, and whenever the person’s condition changes from baseline. Consult the practitioner, family, and/or representative (25.9).
An enhanced care plan must cover wandering patterns; continuous independent access to the person’s own room; staff oversight indoors and in the secure outdoor area; and which hygiene items they may keep (25.10).
Residents who want to go outside the secured area shall be permitted to do so with staff supervision, except where it would be detrimental (25.21). There must be a year-round secure outdoor area they can enter and leave, with seating, weather protection, and a fence at least six feet high (25.26(F)).
Quarterly family-support meetings for that secure environment, with advance notice (25.22).
Same resident rights as every other ALR resident, including privacy (25.23).
Moving someone out of the secure environment follows the ordinary discharge rules unless the legal representative starts a voluntary move (25.24).

One trained awake staff member — not a ratio

There shall be a sufficient number of trained staff on duty in the secure environment to meet each person’s needs per the care plan (25.17). Staffing is set from day-to-day need. At a minimum, there shall be one trained, awake staff member on duty at all times (25.18).

That is an awake-staff floor for the unit. It is not a staff-to-resident ratio. Part 25 does not set a number of residents per staff. This page does not invent one.

A home that does not have one cannot keep someone who needs it

These rules apply to every ALR, including homes that do not operate Part 25:

The home shall not allow to move in a person who is profoundly disoriented to time, person, and place with safety concerns that require a secure environment, if the home does not provide one (11.2(F)).
The home shall arrange to discharge a resident in that same situation (11.11(E)).

“We can watch them” is not a substitute the rule names. If wandering or exit-seeking is already the issue, ask before move-in whether the home is Part 25 — and what they will do if needs increase.

Two layers of dementia training

Do not treat “we do dementia training” as proof of a memory-care program.

Layer 1 — every ALR (7.9(B)). As of January 1, 2024, direct-care staff who regularly work with residents living with dementia must complete at least four hours of dementia training (person-centered care, care planning, daily living, behaviors and communication), free to the staff member, no later than 120 days after start unless an equivalent-training exception applies. Then at least two hours every two years. That is a baseline. It is not a memory-care badge.

Layer 2 — extra, only if the home runs a secure environment. On top of 7.9:

unit-specific training (layout, restricted areas, how to disarm alarms) when assigned to the unit (25.13)
care-plan training for each resident they could care for, before independent work (25.14)
at least six more hours of general dementia / cognitive-impairment training within 60 days (25.15)

Ask to see documentation for both layers.

What to ask in writing

License and setting

What is the CDPHE license type — Assisted Living Residence, or Nursing Care Facility / Skilled Nursing Care Facility? Ask for the Facility ID and look it up on Find and Compare.
If this is an ALR: are you currently HCPF-certified as an Alternative Care Facility, and which waivers do you accept? Confirm with the Case Management Agency (in Mesa County: Rocky Mountain Health Plans). ACF is a Medicaid services certification. The resident still pays room and board. Not every licensed ALR is an ACF. ACF is not a memory-care license.
If this is a nursing home: is the dementia area a secured neighborhood under the nursing-home license? Care Compare may rate the nursing home, not “memory care.”

Part 25 — ask even if the brochure says “memory care”

Do you operate a Chapter 7 secure environment (2.56 / Part 25)? Whole building or a distinct part?
May I have the 25.4 disclosure before anyone moves in — criteria, location and methods of restriction, how safety is monitored, daily engagement?
What restriction methods do you use (locked doors, delayed egress, keypads, wander-guard, staff escort)?
Licensed-practitioner evaluation within 90 days?
Will anyone be required to move in against their will without legal authority?
Re-assessment every six months?
Is one trained, awake staff member on duty in the unit at all times? How do you set the rest of the staffing from day-to-day need? (Awake-staff floor — not a ratio.)
Extra training before independent work, and +6 hours within 60 days, on top of the statewide four-hour / two-hour-every-two-years training?
May residents go outside the secured area with staff supervision? Is there a year-round secure outdoor area they can enter and leave?
Quarterly family-support meetings?
If this person later needs a secure environment and you do not have one, you must discharge them. What is your plan if needs increase?

Daily life and money

Show a real week’s engagement description from the 25.4 disclosure. Visit at the hour something is listed and see whether it is happening.
Written fee sheet: services included in the rate and every optional service with the specified charge (11.6(C)). Memory-care / secure-environment pricing is whatever that home’s agreement says. There is no official Mesa or Colorado memory-care median on a government page this directory opened. CareScout’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey has no memory-care column. This page does not invent a memory-care price and does not multiply an assisted-living figure to invent one.

Alzheimer’s Association tour questions (theirs, not Colorado rules)

The Alzheimer’s Association long-term-care page says assisted living is not regulated by the federal government, definitions vary by state, and not all assisted living providers offer services specifically designed for people with dementia, so it is important to ask. Special care / memory care units may or may not be locked. Visit several communities; first visit by appointment and one or two unannounced visits; visit at different times, including a meal; ask for the latest inspection report.

Selected Association questions to use on top of the Part 25 list: how families are involved in care planning; how staff handle challenging behaviors; whether planned activities actually take place when listed, including evenings and weekends; indoor and outdoor areas that are safe, secure, and monitored; discharge policy if behavior or money runs out.

The Association also asks about resident-to-staff ratio and whether an RN is on site at all times. Those are Association questions. Colorado ALRs are not required to have an RN on site at all times; 11.7(C) requires the home to disclose how much licensed or certified clinical staff is on site. Chapter 7 has no statewide private-pay staff-to-resident ratio.

Three official names (not a bed count)

CDPHE Find and Compare has no memory-care filter. The official August 27, 2026 export columns are address, Facility ID, name, phone, type, operating status, and payor source. There is no memory-care, secure-environment, or licensed-capacity column.

Three Active Mesa County ALRs on that official file have a legal name that contains “memory care” or “Alzheimer.” They are typed Assisted Living Residence (Licensed Only). The name is not a Part 25 certification and not a bed count. Whether any of them operate a secure environment is unverified on the official list. Ask the home for the 25.4 disclosure. ACF status for these three is unverified on the official type string. Ask the home and the CMA in writing if Medicaid may be needed.

Legal name (as CDPHE shows)	Facility ID	City	Official type	Status
FAMILY HEALTH WEST MEMORY CARE	231128	Fruita (243 N Cherry St)	Assisted Living Residence (Licensed Only)	Active
ASPEN RIDGE ALZHEIMERS SPECIAL CARE CENTER	23W376	Grand Junction (622 28 1/4 Road)	Assisted Living Residence (Licensed Only)	Active
WESTERN SLOPE MEMORY CARE	23W350	Grand Junction (2594 Patterson Rd)	Assisted Living Residence (Licensed Only)	Active

This is not an inventory of Western Slope memory-care beds, locked units, or vacancies. It is not a commercial “memory care communities” list. Homes beyond these three names are unverified here as a memory-care inventory.

Paying for it

Memory-care cost is the cost of the host setting (usually a private-pay ALR, sometimes a nursing home) plus whatever that home prints on its fee sheet for the secure-environment / specialty program. Get the written resident agreement and the 25.4 disclosure. Chapter 7 does not publish a price.

Medicare does not pay assisted-living room, board, or custodial memory care. Medicare Part A may cover a short skilled stay in a Medicare-certified nursing home after a qualifying hospital stay. That is a different license and a different bill.

Medicaid / ACF: Health First Colorado may pay services only if the person is eligible and the home is HCPF-certified as an ACF. The resident still pays room and board. This page does not publish an ACF secured-environment staffing number. Ask the Case Management Agency.

Long-term care insurance or VA benefits may help if the person and the policy or program qualify. Confirm with those payers. This page does not treat them as a memory-care-specific promise.

Official pages this guide used

This page does not invent bed counts, locked-unit counts, memory-care prices, or a Colorado memory-care license. It is not a recommendation.