How Utah regulates memory care units

Is memory care a separate license in Utah?

No. Utah licenses memory care as an approved secure unit inside a Type II assisted living facility, and DLBC's monthly report records how many of each license's beds are secure, which is the only official way to tell which Utah County buildings run locked dementia care.

In DLBC's November 2026 report, 21 Utah County Type II assisted living licenses have secure beds, 523 in all, and 7 of those buildings are secure from end to end.

Marketing words such as “memory care neighborhood” or “reminiscence wing” have no legal meaning. If the DLBC report shows zero secure beds, the building cannot lock a resident in, however it describes its programs.

Who can be admitted to a secure unit in Utah?

A resident with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia may move into a secure unit only if they can still exit with the limited help of one person, the same evacuation test that applies to every Type II resident.

That test means memory care is not the last stop for everyone. A person in late-stage dementia who needs two staff members to move, or who needs continual nursing, may have to move to a nursing care facility. Several Utah County nursing homes also report secure beds of their own on the state report, which is worth knowing when you plan the long view.

What agreements does a Utah family sign for memory care?

Each secure-unit resident needs a secure-unit admission agreement that includes a negotiated wander-risk agreement and the criteria for discharge from the unit, on top of the facility's ordinary admission agreement.

Read the discharge criteria line by line. They spell out which behaviors or care needs would end the stay, such as repeated aggression, a need for two-person transfers, or a need for skilled nursing. Ask the director how many residents were discharged from the unit in the last year and where they went.

How is a Utah memory care unit staffed?

At least one direct-care staff member must be inside the secure unit at all times, direct-care workers complete at least 4 of their 16 hours of one-on-one job training in the unit, and the unit needs its own emergency evacuation plan.

One person is a minimum, not a staffing plan. Ask how many caregivers are in the unit on the day, evening and overnight shifts, whether the unit's staff float to the rest of the building, and who covers breaks. Visit at dinner or late afternoon, when sundowning makes staffing easiest to judge.

What does memory care cost in Utah County?

No published median exists for memory care in Utah or anywhere else, because CareScout does not survey it separately; Utah County buildings price secure units individually, usually above their regular assisted living rates.

Ask each building for its secure-unit price in writing, including any care-level fees and what triggers an increase. Utah's rule requires 30 days' notice before a change in charges. The New Choices Waiver can pay for services in a licensed facility for eligible residents, but not room and board; see how the waiver works.