The woes that bedevil family caregivers are well documented. Unpaid caregivers make enormous sacrifices to care for their parents and other relatives who suffer from dementia. Because they work part time or forego outside employment entirely while providing care, family caregivers may sacrifice their careers. Unpaid caregivers incur an average of $12,388 in out-of-pocket costs […]
Memory care units in assisted-living facilities, as well as facilities that are dedicated exclusively to patients suffering from dementia, provide residential services to older adults who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. While “memory care” includes the same services that assisted-living facilities provide to residents who do not have dementia, it often […]
Almost 6 million people in the United States are living with dementia. About 97% of dementia patients are over the age of 65. The CDC predicts that 14 million people in the US will be diagnosed with dementia by 2060. Dementia is the generic term for diseases that impair memory and other cognitive functions to […]
More than 6 million Americans over the age of 65 suffer from dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is most prevalent cause of dementia. About one in ten older Americans have developed Alzheimer’s disease. The National Institute on Aging defines dementia as “the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning — and behavioral abilities to such […]
Understanding Dementia and Medical-Legal Implications By Sanjay Adhia, M.D. Dementia encompasses degenerative disorders to the brain. It can be subtle and fluctuate in severity even from day to day. It can accompany genetic factors, or be associated with an injury or repeated injuries to the brain and head. It is serious and marked by symptoms […]
About 6.9 million Americans who are 65 or older are living with dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. About two-thirds of those individuals are women. Almost three-quarters of people with dementia are age 75 or older. The NIH estimates that 13.8 million Americans will suffer from dementia by 2060. Alzheimer’s is the most prevalent cause of […]
Joyce Simard began her career as a dementia care specialist almost unwittingly nearly four decades ago. She had logged many early years as what she calls “a real social worker” when it hit hard that the usual rules and regulations care facilities cling to simply don’t work for residents who have Alzheimer’s disease or other […]
Most people say they fear getting Alzheimer’s disease more than they fear heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or cancer, according to a number of recent polls. And a large number even fear it more than dying. And the odds of that fear being realized seem scary, too. The Alzheimer’s Association posts the statistics that an estimated […]
Despite strict government warnings and national initiatives cracking down on administering antipsychotic drugs to older people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia, dangerous abuses persist. The practice is particularly pernicious when it occurs in nursing homes, behind closed doors, where the most vulnerable residents are rarely informed or allowed to give meaningful consent before being […]