Assisted Living and Dementia

[DidiRN]

I wondered if anyone could offer me some advice on this. I guess I used to think Assisted Living you pretty much had to be fairly independent and just need help with a few things, but it seems like everything else in health care, the acuity is higher and I now hear that AL's can take dementia patients.

I have a mother who will have to be placed soon, and she can pay for AL out of pocket, but what kind of criteria do they have to meet? What kind of behaviors or symptoms do they have when they have to move from AL to a long term care setting? I figured one criteria is that they are bedridden and such, but I wondered if anyone could tell me more specifically how bad can they be and still be safe in AL? I take they are locked units? How are they observed?

I'm also very concerned about her because of her behavior...she can be very difficult and I know she will constantly want to go home and try to leave. Although she hasn't been violent, I could see this happening. I'm worried she might get "thrown out" or something like that, or we might have difficulty placing her in either a AL or a nursing home.

Thanks so much in advance to anyone who can reply or PM me.

Sherri

[boulergirl, CNA]

The assisted-living home where I work has a secured unit for those whose dementia is bad enough to require that they be supervised 24/7. Basically this means that you need to punch in a code to get on or off the unit. The door between this unit and the rest of AL has an alarm as well. In addition, doors are locked, because sometimes residents will jiggle or shake the doorknobs, trying to escape and go "home".

Sometimes, if a resident has consistent problems with agitation, to the point that they are a threat to staff or other residents, they may be prescribed something to calm them down. However, we also receive training about the needs of residents with dementia, how to work with them when they get agitated or confused and start acting out.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

We have many types of assisted living here on Cape Cod. Some people are totally independent..some need moderate assist and a few facilities are specifically designed for demented residents. Check them all out in your area and find the one that best suits your mom's needs.

[donmomofnine]

Yes, there are different types of AL for different types of residents, including dementia. We are looking at building a dementia unit for AL. For regular AL, our residents need to be able to do basic ADL's and, if incontinent, manage their incontinent product. They also need to be able to ambulate to the common dining area.