Nursing Case Study Alzheimer's

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

The impact that Alzheimer’s disease has on the patient’s family and caregivers is really devastating. It must be very hard for the patient’s family to see what their loved one is going through. They may feel grief and lose. It is a very unfortunate thing for both the patient and the family to live life with the loss of memory. They may have had so many good memories in the past but due to this disease patient may lose all those memories. It is very hard for family and caregivers to see the patient struggling with doing daily activities due to memory impairment. Sometimes it can be overwhelming for family members and caregiver to manage time because they have to give extra attention and dedication. They need to make sure that the patient is

The most common type of care for Alzheimer’s patients are staying with family members or close friends. This is because many people cannot afford the care of a skilled nursing home. Often times it is children taking care of their parent that has Alzheimer’s. It is not easy taking care of someone who took care of you as a child. If the person is still working, it will hurt their career and may cause them to retire earlier. The “patients” care increases as they lose their ability to speak or do basic things on their own. In many cases, the caregiver will suffer from depression from the emotional and financial

There are places where people with Alzheimer’s are better fit if the family members are no longer able to perform the tasks. There are retirements housing which may be appropriate for someone with early-stage Alzheimer’s who is able to take care of them, most of the part, but finds it difficult to manage a home. This type of housing barely has any supervision and does have many activities, transportation, and simple necessities. Another type of housing is Assisted Living, which is the middleman between living independently and going to a nursing home. What are normally provided is housing, meals, activities, and necessities. Depending on the resident case they are able to have 24 hour help and that is where Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, and Caregivers come into play. They are in charge of caring for the patient as well as med reminders, taking patients showers, putting the patient in bed, and other day-to-day needs. There are nursing homes also known as skilled nursing facility or custodial care. Nursing homes provide 24-hour care and basically do everything for the patient. Alzheimer special care units are designed to meet the specific needs of the individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease can be a complex task. It can be frustrating, confusing, emotionally draining and physically exhausting, the local Alzheimer Society is a great aid for a range of accessible services and resources for those experiencing different stages of Alzheimer’s and other related dementias, as well as, support to caregivers and other health professionals.

In the pamphlet Basics of Alzheimer’s Disease, the Alzheimer’s Association adds late onset, traditionally known simply as Alzheimer’s, targets primarily people 65 and older. The disease follows a series of steps from mild decline with little noticed changes to very severe cognitive decline where the final stage of the disease is in progress (Basic 19-21). Throughout the stages, independence becomes lost and family members will become care takers and in the later stages nursing homes or hospice may be needed. One book encourages the care giver to communicate through body language, tone, and written instructions to help alleviate as much stress as possible for those living with Alzheimer’s (Living 47). The book further adds when caring for a person with Alzheimer’s remember to maintain patience and to show respect .

After Alzheimer's is diagnosed in a parent, or other elderly family member, the caregiver has the task of deciding what the best form of care for the patient is. In order to do this they have to fully understand what the disease is, and

Alzheimer’s Disease is a chronic neurological disease characterized by memory loss, behavioral changes, and a progressive loss of intellectual function. This disease has a wide array of symptoms and effects that vary greatly from person to person throughout the three stages of disease progression. The three stages are classified as mild, moderate, and severe. It is tough to give an accurate prognosis with Alzheimer’s patients seeing as everyone reacts differently to the disease and the medications. According to Gould and Dyer (2011), about 4.5 to 5.4 million Americans experience the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. When a patient is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it has the potential to turn their loved ones’ worlds upside down. Since there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, loved ones have to constantly monitor and help the person affected. Treatment is a group effort consisting of using doctors and therapists for guidance while family members take care of the person affected.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR; 4th ed. Revised; American Psychiatric Association) there are many factors that have been correlated with the progression of the Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias including culture, beliefs about aging and treatment. Understanding these factors is the first step to provide a more culture-oriented awareness and improve the current diagnosis and treatment rates. Existing evidence for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias suggests that there are significant differences in prevalence, incidence, treatment, and mortality of Alzheimer’s disease across racial and ethnic groups. Disparities across racial and ethnic groups in diagnosis and treatment rates

(Intellectual Development Disorder) Alzheimer’s Disease (G30.9) Mr. Jewell is currently using Risperdal 2mg HS for his mental health needs. He has a good sense of humor with a friendly approachable disposition and gets along well with other people. Mr. Jewell struggles with limitations due to his Dementia. He is not oriented to place or time and his short memory is due Alzheimer’s disease. Consumer continues to meet with his psychiatrist Dr. Capiro once weekly for one-on-one session to evaluate and determine if he is okay with hi current medication. Consumer was at his baseline this month, he was complaint with taking his medication and going for appointment.

While the person with the disease is slowly losing themselves and their independence, their family has to deal with the burden of caring for their deteriorating family member, which can be both physically and emotionally draining. The hardships of taking care of a loved one with a disease like Alzheimer’s is the reason why patients are said to make up about two-thirds of those in nursing homes (Prigerson, 2003, as cited in Feldman, 2014). It is important for family members of the afflicted to realize there is help available for those having to deal firsthand with slowly losing their loved one. The Alzheimer’s Association, for example, is there to provide caregivers and family members support and information (http://www.alz.org). While dementia is something everybody fears of possibly developing later in life, it is reassuring to know that scientists are working hard to find new treatments for these diseases, and possibly a cure. As someone who is working towards a career to help elderly patients, I hope I will be learning more on this subject, so that I may effectively help patients diagnosed with diseases like Alzheimer’s, and their

The only way to confirm a diagnosis of Alzheimer's is by autopsy of brain tissue. It is important to carefully evaluate individuals who exhibit the symptoms of dementia because so some of the cause can be treated reversed. The reversible conditions include metabolic changes, drug reactions, and depression. The physical, psychological, and neurological examination can lead to a relatively accurate diagnosis. This requires the medical history, mental status testing, blood test and brain imaging to rule out other causes of dementia like symptoms. Even though there isn’t one specific test that is able to identify Alzheimer’s, a comprehensive evaluation will include the physical examination, neurological, health history, mental status, analysis

At some point in our lives we have probably all known someone that had or has dementia. Dementia is a generalized term that refers to the progressive, irreversible decline in mental function. Dementia is a disease that not only affects the patient but also affects the patient’s loved ones. Caring for a loved one with dementia can be very difficult and heart breaking but there are lots of resources to help.

Florida’s healthcare system continues to face challenges as the states aging population is increasing. As per the Alzheimer’s Association, Florida is projected to have 720,000 people over the age of 65 with Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. The state’s elder affairs department has spent $16,093,452 through the ADI on respite/special projects and $3,463,683 on memory disorder clinics. The department of Elder affairs, funds many programs through the ADI by providing home and community based services, adult day care, caregiver training and support, counseling, education, Alzheimer’s disease screening, research, home-delivered meals, personal care and transportation. The main focus of this initiative is access and quality of care that can be provided

The patient is a 93-year-old African American female who is brought to the ED by her daughter complaining of abdominal pain. The daughter states that her mother beginning to do strange things. She is known to have a history of dementia but she also she began to tear several pieces of paper, pull her the legs of her garments and also when she give her sandwich she pulled the sandwich apart and she did not seem to know what to do with it. This concerned the daughter therefore she was brought to the emergency room. Her medical history is significant for hypertension, a past CVA, dementia, hyper cholesterolemia and she is also has a VP shunt which was placed in the year 2006. It appears that may be placed for normal pressure hydrocephalus.