Finding out your options sooner rather than later also includes looking into nursing homes. Know the best nursing homes in your area and perhaps get your relative on some waiting lists even if you vow this is a choice you will never exercise. You may discover that far from being a hated last resort, eventually a nursing home may be absolutely the best choice.
In addition, evaluate how well any prospective home serves residents with dementia (estimated to be a good 50 percent of the nursing-home population anyway). Nursing homes generally have «orientation» boards with the date, weather, season, and institution’s name to help confused residents. Look beyond this minimum. Ask whether there are special activities and services for confused residents. Is there a dementia unit? Are the staff members trained to understand and work with patients who have Alzheimer’s disease? Does the home employ mental health professionals? How does the staff handle common problems the disease causes – wandering, agitation, incontinence? Though these services tend to be more expensive, the ideal is to find an institution with a showplace dementia unit, one offering special services and programs for Alzheimer’s victims and caring, trained personnel.
Thoroughly educate yourself by joining the ADRDA and reading special books. It is far from certain that your loved one will have every distressing symptom I have discussed. Some people deteriorate to a point and then stabilize mentally. Others never need nursing-home care. But as Barry Reisberg, a psychiatrist authority, advises, at least until we find a cure for this dreadful illness, you should «hope for the best and plan for the worst.» The cliche «knowledge is power» also applies. The more you know, the easier it will be to bear even the worst.
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GENERAL HEALTH