To whom it may concern: My husband and I recently lost his mother to Alzheimer’s. She had the disease for several years, and we took care of her at home until she progressed to the point that we could go no longer do it without outside help.
We called hospice. They came in and did an assessment of her condition. The words we heard from almost the very beginning were terminal restlessness, then terminal agitation. On our own, we could not keep her in bed, and she was at the stage where we were getting kicked and hit. But, we had to keep her safe from falling on the floor and breaking bones.
As a last resort, we called in hospice. They set up a plan of care, including giving her morphine to keep her calm, but it did not work very well. After the fourth day, they put her in respite care so we could get some much-needed rest. During this time, her illness progressed to the terminal stage. While at the nursing home, she fell from the bed on two occasions. Even though the bed was lowered as far as possible, she still had to be taken to the ER for the first fall. The second fall was not as bad, but during this time, she was supposed to have a sitter present 24/7. My question is, “What happened with the sitter?”
I agree that Senate Bill 150 needs to be passed in order to protect people who have dementia/Alzheimer’s. There should be unannounced inspections of all facilities providing care for these people so they will be assured the best care possible. This disease is already tough enough on them, and their families have to go through injuries that could have been prevented. They've already been robbed of everything they are/their ability to reason, comprehend and make everyday decisions for themselves. We need to give them the respect and dignity they so rightfully deserve during the last few days and even hours they have left on earth.
I worked in several skilled care nursing homes in North Carolina, where we had inspections by the state whenever they deemed it necessary. It made the quality of care in those facilities rise to the point where it needed to be for everyone involved.
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