If only this overnight program, ElderServe at Night, were available in every city. It’s one of those models that leads the way.
Originally posted in the New York Times…. Read on
Cara Buckley and James Estrin describe a unique care program at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale, N.Y., to address “sundowning,” the tendency of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia to be struck by sleeplessness, agitation and wandering at night:
“While there are countless day care programs for the nation’s estimated 5.3 million Alzheimer’s patients, some experts believe that ElderServe at Night, which began a decade ago, is the only one of its kind in the country.”
“Participants are fetched from their homes by vans and spend 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. painting, potting plants, dancing and talking — or, for those immobilized by their disease, relaxing amid music, massage and twinkling lights. The patients rest as they need, for a few minutes or a few hours, and return home the next morning fed, showered and, usually, tuckered out.”
What a great idea.
To read the full story and see a slideshow and video, click here, “All-Night Care for Dementia’s Restless Minds.”
For more on sundowning, read The Mystery of Sundowning.
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