Follow
Share

I wanted to ask a more general question. What happens to dementia patients that are physically and verbally abusive if put into a home? There are many out there. I see people telling others to put them into a home immediately, then I see others telling the nursing home caregivers to contact the police. So what is a person to do exactly? Dementia people are angry and abusive. They don't know what is going on around them and do not understand their actions have consequences. So what happens to the abusive dementia patients who have no where to go as they have been kicked out of nursing home care (as suggested by you guys) but have been put into one due to their abusiveness at home?

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
You refer to the facility as a home. I take it you mean some kind of long term care facility. In my state, most residents who are mobile and verbal would not be placed into a regular nursing home, as it is normally for those who require skilled nursing care. 

Then, there are Assisted Living facilities, who accept those with dementia, but, not if the resident is to far progressed or is difficult to manage due to their behavior.

 So, then they would be placed in a Memory Care facility, where is there more supervision and training in the care of dementia residents. Still, if the behavior is too unmanageable, disruptive or violent, even with medication treatment, they would not be allowed to stay, according to the regulations in my state. (based on what I have read and been told.)

 So, that leaves psychiatric hospitals and residential facilities that house people who are not able to live in a regular AL or Memory Care. There are a few in my state. I know someone who has a parent who lives in that type of long term care facility.  He has mental illness and dementia. It's actually state operated. Those facilities provide very special care for those who are not able to be managed elsewhere. 

I'm not sure of your situation, but, some dementia patients may improve in their behavior and mood when properly medicated, (not drugged up) and provided with the proper supervision. My LO responded very well to proper medication and the care of trained professionals in a Memory Care facility. IMO, disruptive and resistant behavior can often be the result of untrained staff doing all the wrong things.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

My dad ended up in the nursing home after a fall. He had been home for five years after a stroke and gradually weakened and dementia developed. He should have been in a nursing home for two years prior to the fall but my step mom could not make this decision - even after he hurt her seriously enough to require treatment and i got a concussion and black eye and various other injuries. Dementia patients are in a different world and something can agitate them in an instant. My dad has medication that keeps him calm. He is not a zombie, he enjoys TV and other patients, but it keeps him from acting out. We were worried that he would be kicked out when he injured some other patients - but the nursing home worked with his physician to find a good combination. A year later - he is calm, cheerful, and lives 30 years in the past.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

If someone with dementia had to leave their home because of the dementia and the agitated behaviors that can go with dementia and are placed in a nursing home where their behavior worsens eventually somewhere down the line they'll be medicated. Nursing homes won't cop to this because "chemical restraints" are against the law but it's done all the time. A person wouldn't be drugged so that they can't get out of bed but they get some anti-anxiety medication and maybe an anti-depressant.

I do believe nursing homes try to hold on off this however. They don't want their residents to be drugged zombies. There are many interventions that can be tried first and while those things are being tried the person with dementia may begin to become acclimated to their surroundings.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

This is an extremely good question and a hot topic.

If you Google it, you will find lots of case histories, many of them very sad stories.

The issue overlaps with that of overmedicating people with dementia. Relatives and the general public are rightly horrified at the thought of elderly people being kept quiet and compliant with drugs. But you and we on the forum know that before they get too appalled and vocal, they need to know what happens when a person with full-blown dementia acts out. And if they still have a better idea of how to prevent that person from being a danger to him/herself and others, let's hear it.

Really excellent dementia care can avoid the worst problems. But it is such highly skilled work that it is both expensive to provide and difficult to find enough people with the true vocation for it.

I hope you'll get many more answers with positive examples of how things were handled. Good question, thank you :)
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter