Nursing Home Management of Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Between now and the year 2050 the number of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders will increase from 2 million to 8.5 million. Conservative estimates project that during this same period, nursing-home residencies of people age 65 and older will rise from 1.1 million to 5.4 million.1 Since people afflicted with Alzheimer's disease frequently require institutionalization, and since it is likely that nursing homes will continue to be an important part of the caring spectrum, how will these facilities deal with large numbers of people with dementia? Currently, there is an absence of industrywide standards defining Alzheimer's care. Nursing homes may identify “specialty care units” even when no special competence exists. To assure AD patients and their families that services consistent with their expectations for Alzheimer's care will be provided, industrywide standards must be established. This paper, presented in May to the American College of Health Care Administrators in San Diego, outlines guidelines for the formulation and eventual adoption of standards of care for Alzheimer's patients.