Dementia is extremely common among nursing home patients, and it takes many forms. Accurate assessment by staff is crucial in providing appropriate care to these patients. Equally important is the ability to establish care priorities. Current staging models are so general, however, that their usefulness is limited. Thus, this paper proposes a strategy that, using basic assessment data, categorizes dementia residents according to four key determinants of care needs: activities of daily living status, behavioral problems, communication abilities, and physical transition.