Memory Care in Madison, AL: Costs and How to Choose

Memory care in Madison, AL, sits on both sides of the county line. The state files three communities under Madison County and two under Limestone County. Heritage Assisted Living & Memory Care lists a memory care studio at $5,500. All five hold Alabama's specialty care license. Its rule sets a minimum number of staff on every shift. Together, the five are licensed for 172 beds. They run from Heritage's 16 to Carillon Oaks Madison's 48.

Memory care in Madison, AL. AI interpretation of Madison, AL, with approximate buildings and layout
Last Updated: October 2026
9-minute read| Author: Seth Burney
Published: October 2026
9-minute read | Author: Seth Burney | Date Published: October 2026 | Last Updated: October 2026

Key Takeaways

Armchairs around a table, for memory care communities in Madison, AL
The state files three of Madison, AL's memory care communities under Madison County and two under Limestone County.
A market stand, for memory care costs in Madison, AL
Heritage Assisted Living & Memory Care lists a memory care studio at $5,500 (checked Oct. 20, 2026). The other four don't post one.
A bookshelf, for Alabama's memory care staffing rule, part of our guide for Madison, AL
In memory care, Alabama requires at least two staff on duty on every shift for up to 16 residents, and more as a community grows.
A hospital building, for dementia support near Madison, AL, part of our memory care guide
The Alzheimer's Association lists a caregiver support group at Madison Hospital, first Thursdays at 2 p.m.

Memory Care Cost in Madison, AL: One Posted Price

A market stand, for memory care costs in Madison, AL

One of the five memory care communities in Madison, AL, posts a price. The other four don't post a memory care price. They share floor plans or describe their care instead.

  • Heritage Assisted Living & Memory Care: Studio, $5,500. Studios of 370 to 401 square feet; a $2,500 community fee.
  • Personalized care plans in a secure community.
  • Studio, deluxe studio and two-bedroom memory care floor plans.
  • Garden House, its memory care program.
  • A memory care studio and four two-bedroom memory care plans.

Heritage's floor plan page lists the $5,500 studio price without a time period, so it's worth asking what the price covers. CareScout's 2025 Cost of Care Survey has no memory care figure of its own.

Heritage's FAQ covers couples. When one spouse has advanced dementia, that spouse can stay in its memory care while the other lives in its assisted living.

Five Specialty Care Licenses in Madison, AL

Monark Grove Madison pairs independent living with memory care on one campus. Heritage, Madison at The Range and Merrill Gardens at Madison each hold an assisted living license as well. Carillon Oaks Madison specializes in memory care for women, serving women only. Alabama's specialty care license lets a community care for people whose dementia would keep them out of regular assisted living.

At Carillon Oaks Madison, a full-time memory care activities director leads days that run from therapeutic art to gardening. Heritage's memory care has 16 residences, beside its assisted living. Madison at The Range is all on one level, with four courtyards and two greenhouses. Its memory care program is called SPIRIT. Merrill Gardens at Madison calls its memory care Garden House. Its Inspire Connection program uses a Montessori approach. Monark Grove Madison lists a 384-square-foot memory care studio and four two-bedroom memory care plans.

Memory Care in Madison, AL

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Memory Care Communities and Alabama Licenses

Dementia Care at Home in Madison, AL, Before a Move

A first aid case and stethoscope, for dementia care at home in Madison, AL, part of our memory care guide

The Alzheimer's Association lists Oasis Respite Care, at First Baptist Church in Huntsville, among respite programs for Madison County. It runs a respite day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families register ahead. It's a social program, so no medicines are given and no medical care is offered. It charges a daily fee. Oasis says it expects, through gifts and grants, that no one will be turned away for being unable to pay.

A home care agency with an office in Madison, AL, lists Alzheimer's and dementia care and respite care among its services. Respite care gives a family caregiver a few hours or days off.

The assisted living guide for Madison, AL names that agency and covers home care costs.

Staff on Every Shift: Alabama's Memory Care Minimums in Madison, AL

The staffing floor. Unlike regular assisted living, Alabama's memory care rule sets a minimum number of staff. With 16 or fewer residents, a community needs at least two staff members on duty on every shift. Heritage's memory care is licensed for 16. At 48 residents, the size of Carillon Oaks Madison's license, the floor is six by day. It's four in the evening and three overnight. A wing behind a lockable door needs its own staff. Every community must add staff beyond the minimum when residents' care and safety call for it.

A screening before move-in. In the 30 days before a move, the community's registered nurse (RN) or care coordinator screens each new resident. It covers a health history and a memory and thinking exam. That exam checks for trouble with language. It also includes a depression screen, a check of self-care skills and a behavior screen. A doctor's exam is required in the same 30 days.

When an Alabama memory care nurse calls the family: a decline in health or behavior, two or more falls within 30 days, a resident leaving the building unsafely, major weight loss or an accident with an injury, part of our guide for Madison, AL

A monthly review. The RN reviews each resident at least once a month. The review looks at weight, falls, incidents, any time a resident walked away from the building, behavior changes and medicines.

When the family hears. The RN gets in touch with the resident's doctor and the family member responsible when health or behavior gets worse. The same goes for two or more falls within 30 days, a resident leaving the building unsafely, major weight loss or any accident with an injury.

A plan for wandering. Each resident has an activity program built around their own needs. A resident who tends to wander has a written activity plan for it.

Who can move in. A specialty care community can't admit someone who needs skilled nursing care. The same goes for a wound that needs more than basic first aid, or behaviors that could be dangerous to the person or others. It also can't admit someone who is receiving or needs hospice care. A resident who later starts hospice may stay past 90 days, as long as the community can meet their needs.

Medical care from outside. Skilled services like wound care or a urinary catheter come from licensed outside agencies, not the community's own staff. Unless a resident manages their own medicines, they use one pharmacy.

Still only a proposal. A June 2026 proposal would rewrite the staffing table above and let certified medication assistants give medicines. As of Oct. 20, 2026, the state hadn't adopted it. Today's table still applies.

Questions for Memory Care Tours in Madison and Limestone Counties

Madison, AL's five memory care licenses run from 16 beds to 48, and the state files two of them under Limestone County. Size, the care on the same site and each community's own focus are good places to start.

Questions for a Madison, AL, memory care tour:

  • Is any wing behind a lockable door, and who staffs it on each shift?
  • Who did the move-in screening, and how will the results shape the care plan?
  • Which outside agency handles wound care or a catheter here?
  • Which pharmacy do residents use?
  • If a resident starts hospice later, how does the community decide whether it can still meet their needs?

Caregiver Help and Paying for Memory Care in Madison, AL

TARCOG's dementia work. TARCOG, a regional council of governments, is the area agency on aging for Madison and Limestone counties. Its caregiver page describes Dementia Friendly North Alabama. That's a community where people living with dementia and their care partners feel included in daily life. TARCOG was also certified in 2021 to run the Virtual Dementia Tour. On the tour, trained guides fit caregivers with devices that alter their senses. Then they try everyday tasks the way a person with dementia might.

Should your family member need a nursing home later, a Qualifying Income Trust is how Alabama Medicaid covers people with income over its listed 2026 limit of $2,982. The assisted living guide for Madison, AL covers VA benefits, Alabama Medicaid's care at home and that nursing home income rule.

Dementia Support Groups and Care Near Madison, AL

  • Madison Hospital Caregiver Support Group. The Alzheimer's Association lists this group at Madison Hospital, 8375 Highway 72 West, on the first Thursday of each month at 2 p.m. Its groups are free and led by trained facilitators. It asks people to confirm the time before going.
  • Alzheimer's Support Group at the Madison Senior Center. The Alzheimer's Association sponsors it. It's for care partners, family and others close to someone living with Alzheimer's or another dementia. The Senior Center's October 2026 guide has no time set for it yet.
  • Heritage's Dementia Support Group. Heritage Assisted Living & Memory Care hosts a monthly group on the first Thursday, from 6 to 7 p.m.
  • A neurology practice. Huntsville Hospital Neurological Associates, on Sivley Road in Huntsville, evaluates Alzheimer's disease along with other brain and nerve conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

In Madison, AL, Heritage Assisted Living & Memory Care lists a memory care studio of 370 to 401 square feet at $5,500. There's also a $2,500 community fee. The other four communities don't post a memory care price. CareScout's 2025 Cost of Care Survey doesn't report memory care for Alabama or anywhere else.

Dementia care is care for anyone living with dementia, at home or anywhere else. Memory care is a place. In Alabama, the specialty care license lets a community care for people whose dementia would keep them out of regular assisted living. That care happens behind a secure boundary. All five memory care communities in Madison, AL, hold that license.

In Madison and Limestone counties, TARCOG's Aging & Disability Resource Center is the place to sort out the options. They run from VA Aid and Attendance to Alabama Medicaid's nursing home coverage. It screens for programs and helps with applications.

The room, meals and daily help in memory care count as long-term care, and Medicare.gov says Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care. In Madison and Limestone counties, TARCOG's Aging & Disability Resource Center can screen a family for the programs that do help.

Some help costs nothing. The Alzheimer's Association's support groups are free. It lists a caregiver group at Madison Hospital on the first Thursday of each month. Oasis Respite Care in Huntsville runs a respite day twice a week. It says it expects that no one will be turned away for being unable to pay.

Alabama's specialty care rule sets a floor of two staff on every shift for up to 16 residents. More are required as the community grows. The most are needed by day. Communities must also add staff beyond the minimum whenever residents' care and safety call for it. Each community must post its staff schedule, with names and hours.

172, across five Alabama specialty care licenses. Carillon Oaks Madison is licensed for 48, Heritage for 16, Madison at The Range for 42, Merrill Gardens at Madison for 32 and Monark Grove Madison for 34. The state files Heritage and Monark Grove Madison under Limestone County and the other three under Madison County.

Sources

Checked Oct. 20, 2026.

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