Jul 12, 2013 | Legal Issues/Financial Abuse
I have a patient who has fairly advanced dementia. She has trouble speaking, but she still knows what day it is. When people come to visit, she recognizes them and makes appropriate comments, though usually in very short sentences. She can still play bridge, though...
Jun 29, 2013 | Caregivers, Health
Elderly people (that is, people aged 65 years and older) are more prone to heat stress than younger people for several reasons: Elderly people do not adjust as well as young people to sudden changes in temperature. They are more likely to have a chronic medical...
May 6, 2013 | Legal Issues/Financial Abuse
Again and again, I am called in to help families who say that their elder’s mental function, measured by the “Mini Mental Status Exam” (MMSE-The quick test, that asks questions like, “What day is it?”), tests normal. Yet the patient’s life is in chaos. I find that...
Apr 25, 2013 | Caregivers
We overmedicate our elders with dementia and agitation. When they are bored, and get restless or come asking questions for the 30th time, all too many people just treat them for “anxiety.” When they get extremely angry at us, or won’t sleep at night, or are slow to...
Mar 5, 2013 | Resources/News
Recently, a caregiver came to me with this story, “A grandmother of a friend was discharged from one hospital to another hospital in the same town. This lady ‘lies through her teeth.’ Then, she forgets what she told her healthcare providers. The lady told me she...
