US Nursing Homes and Patients with Dementia
Dementia, which most often occurs when a person is older, involves the loss of one’s mental abilities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Some signs that a person is beginning to suffer from dementia include memory loss, forgetfulness, getting lost while driving, having a difficult time doing complicated tasks, forgetting how to do a task, and becoming confused while talking to someone.
Eventually, a person afflicted with dementia may require the help of family members and friends to perform routine tasks. There also could come a time when a person with dementia will have to be moved to a US nursing home where he or she can get the necessary, specialized medical attention and care required to maintain a certain quality life. For example, a person with dementia may need the help of skilled nurses that know how to treat certain physical ailments or the support of nursing home workers that know what to do to prevent a person with dementia from falling.
Not only is it important for nursing homes that care for dementia patients to provide them with the proper medical care, but they must do what they can to keep them and other patients physically safe. For example, just last month, two nursing home patients with dementia became involved in a deadly altercation when WWE Hall of Famer and AWA legend Verne Gagne threw another patient, Helmut R. Guttman, onto the floor. Guttman died three days later. While Gagne is a suspect in Guttman’s nursing home death, he very likely was not aware of what he was doing and may not even remember what happened.
Nursing homes must also make sure that their workers are trained on how to care for patients with dementia so that they know what to do when a resident becomes anxious, angry, combative, or violent. Providing a specialized care plan for a patient with dementia can also help.
In the event that the nursing home neglect or abuse results in a nursing home patient with dementia getting hurt, injured, or dying, a Chicago nursing home abuse attorney can help you file a nursing home abuse claim or wrongful death lawsuit.
Dementia - and its dangers - overlooked, elder advocates say following Verne Gagne incident, TwinCities, February 21, 2009
AWA legend and WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne a suspect in roommate's death, Prowrestling.net, February 18, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Dealing with Dementia, NCPAMD.com
Dementia, Medline Plus
