when a dementia patient becomes abusive, what are the options? i'm just hearing now that my mother, who has alzheimer's and is in a memory care unit, has had four violent episodes in the last week, where she has attacked both staff and other patients. she's seen a psychiatrist who is tuning up her meds, but psych meds can often take weeks to achieve a therapuetic level. so what usually happens? i can't believe she'd be allowed to stay where she is a danger to staff and other patients. what happens? this is mostly an academic question on my part -- my sister has poa. in the icu, we can sedate them or restrain them. but what happens in ltc?