Tag Archives: Dementia Live

Increased Risks for Hospital Patients with Dementia

Medical Team Working On Patient In Emergency Room

About one fourth of older hospital patients have dementia.  These patients are at an outstandingly higher risk than other patients for:

  • Delirium
  • Falls
  • Dehydration
  • Poor Nutrition
  • Untreated Pain
  • Medication-related problems
  • Wandering
  • Agitated behavior

Because to the stress caused by acute illness and being in an unfamiliar setting, some older patients show signs of dementia for the first time in a hospital.

Delirium is a  disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of your environment. The start of delirium is usually rapid — within hours or a few days.

Delirium can often be traced to one or more contributing factors, such as a severe or chronic medical illness, changes in metabolic balance (such as low sodium), medication, infection, surgery, or alcohol or drug withdrawal.

Dementia is the leading risk factor for delirium.  Patients with dementia are actually three to five times more likely than older adult patients to develop delirium in the hospital and two-thirds of delirium in hospitals occurs in patients with dementia.

These high risk adverse health events are rising at alarming rates as our aging population increases rapidly and hospitals are seeing more patients with dementia symptoms.

According to the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and the Alzheimer’s Association, dementia should be considered a possibility in every hospital patient age 75 and over and can be present in younger patients as well.  People with dementia usually come into a hospital for treatment of their other medical conditions, although some come in because of complications of their dementia.  Of older people with dementia, 30% also have coronary artery disease; 28% congestive heart failure; 21% diabetes and 17% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Doctors at Lutheran Medical Center in Denver, who serve the biggest senior population in the metro area, have made changes to help their older patients avoid the delirium diagnosis if they have no choice but to go the hospital.

They’ve essentially taken their traditional 42,000-square-foot emergency room and cut it in half, leaving one side equipped as a traditional ER, and turning the other half into a “Senior ER.”

A big key is preventing the all-too-common side-effects of delirium. See a special ER for seniors, equipped with dozens of brilliant features, that speed comfort and care to this population.

http://www.alzheimersweekly.com/2017/05/emergency-room-paradise-heals-dementias.html

Bridging technology, smart design features, reduced noise and training staff to better communicate with patients and families, more hospitals will transition to dementia friendly healthcare communities.   The “frightening” hospital experience for the growing population living with dementia may just be a thing of the past in a few years.

www.AGEucate.com

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate Training Institute.   Their mission is developing and delivering cutting edge dementia education and training for health and long term care providers and others.  #DementiaLive #CompassionateTouch

 

 

 

Why Elder Abuse is a Public Health Crisis and Growing Worse

Elder Abuse is a serious problem that needs more attention from lawmakers, public agencies, senior care providers, faith communities and the general public.

The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates that between one and two million elderly adults have suffered some form of elder abuse.  The main types are physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, neglect and self-neglect, abandonment, and financial exploitation.

Elders with dementia are thought to be at greater risk of abuse and neglect than those of the general population.  In one study, 20% of caregivers expressed fears that they would become violent with the people for whom they care for.  Some other alarming statistics:

  • 60% of caregivers have been verbally abusive with the person for whom they were providing care (Journal of Elder Abuse 2005)
  • Between 5 and 10% of caregivers reported that they were physically abusive toward the care recipients (Journal of American Geriatrics 2010)
  • 14% of caregivers reported that they were neglectful (Journal of American Geriatrics Society 2010)

Why the urgency to address this problem?   The number of people living with dementia is rapidly rising.  Families are trying desperately to cope with the emotional and physical stress that comes with caring for someone with dementia.  It’s frightening to care for someone you don’t understand.

We must do more to reach family caregivers, who currently account for the majority of elder caregiving in our country.  Caregivers are trying to juggle work, often raising children at the same time they are caring for elderly parents.   Elder spouses are often isolated and without the support of community services simply because they don’t have access to what might be available to them.

Caregiving can be a lonely, overwhelming and and often a hopeless journey.   Families need education and tools to help them cope with the uncertainties that arise when caring for someone with dementia.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15th.  We are privileged to be collaborating with the Oregon Health Care Association to be sharing our innovative and cutting edge programs, Dementia Live™️ and Compassionate Touch® to family and professional caregivers on June 1st.   Caregivers desperately need a deeper understanding of dementia and practical tools to respond to behaviors.

We encourage everyone to step up in supporting our elders and caregivers and to stop the rise of elder abuse.

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate Training Institute whose mission is to provide cutting edge training and education which creates transformative change for an aging world.

www.AGEucate.com;

 www.OHCA.com

 

Person Centered Care…Moving the Mission Forward

Person-Centered Care
I had the privilege to lead a session on our Dementia Live™and Compassionate Touch® person-centered care programs at the recent American Health Care Association National Convention in Nashville last week.  As part of the Dementia Education Track faculty, it was such an honor to speak to so many passionate leaders who are stepping out of the box and doing amazing things to transform their communities. I love to listen to the success stories and challenges as it helps us  grow as an organization in helping those we serve.

Kenneth Gronbach’s fantastic keynote address was a clear reminder to us all that the Age Curve is not going to happen – it’s here.   And the numbers speak for themselves. It is a clear reminder that as we face the aging tsunami we  as leaders, MUST look forward in the way we will care for our aging population.

The medical model of care is shifting – albeit a bit too slow for those of us with a mission to see person-centered care become the standard. But let’s focus on the good things happening.  One is the new federal and state regulations that require higher standards of training across the spectrum. This is going to have a great affect on pushing person and patient centered care initiatives to the forefront.

The big question is how we will move the Mission Forward to produce real culture change in our organizations. This takes much more than goals of teaching core competencies. It’s a matter of prioritizing the quality of training, how it will be integrated and the big challenge – how it will be sustainable within your organization.  Culture change happens when everyone – those who live in, work and visit your communities – think, feel and act differently.

We are moving to fast on the Age Curve to rest on what we’ve been doing and look at what CAN be done. I look forward to sharing in future blogs the incredible work that is being down around the world to transform eldercare.  It’s an exciting time to be working together in moving the mission forward!

http://www.AGEucate.com