Elder Law

Some Nursing Homes Focusing on Quality of Life for Demenia & Alzheimer?s Residents

By Levin & Perconti

Stories of tragic neglect and abuse fill the archives of this blog, because it is important to raise awareness of the plight faced by so many victims stuck in bad nursing homes. At the same time, some facilities (though still too few) are taking important steps to improve care for the residents whose lives are dictated by their decisions. Some facilities are reevaluating their approach to consider residents? overall quality of life.

For example, the Chicago Tribune reported yesterday on Glenview?s Maryhaven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility has participated in a test-study examining ways to improve the lives of nursing home residents suffering with Alzheimer?s disease and dementia. The study tested new ways of providing care for these patients with a focus on simply improving the day to day living experience of the sufferers.

One general goal of the care is to get facilities to focus on comfort care rather than standard aggressive treatments that have found to offer little to no medical benefit. In addition, many family members of residents are encouraged to engage more fully in the new care programs. Pain medications are used in better ways under the new treatment programs as well. Care givers are encouraged to ensure that pain is prevented before it spikes, instead of only after the victim wallows for a time. Facilities using the new techniques actually saw a reduction in the need for psychotropic medications.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on January 24, 2011 (boomark / email).