Understaffed Nursing Homes Often Miss Early Signs Of Memory Loss In Residents

Unfortunately, many nursing home workers are not trained to identify the warning signs of declining cognitive abilities. And worrisome activities of a resident with dementia, a form of Alzheimer’s Disease, are too easily missed by overworked and poorly resourced care teams. This leaves many residents struggling due to the extra supervision and management of their daily activities, health and mental wellness, medications, and financial needs. Family members and friends are typically the first to request help after noticing a loved one’s behavioral changes or one or more of the concerning events listed below.

1. Unable To Carry Conversation

Some people living with dementia may experience changes in their ability to concentrate, follow a plan, or follow a conversation. This includes confusion with writing or following, or joining a discussion. They may struggle with vocabulary, have trouble naming a familiar object, or use the wrong name (e.g., calling a “bed” a “table”).

2. Preventable Falls

People with dementia have an increased risk of falls and hip fractures. Falls can also happen when staff is not following protocol during a transfer, whether manually or with a lifting device’s assistance. Severe bone fractures and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are common fall injuries that lead to a decline in a person’s health and ultimately contribute to 20% of nursing home resident deaths each year.

3. Wandering and “Getting Lost Easily”

Six out of 10 people with dementia will wander and aimlessly move about within the facility or grounds without regard for their safety. The National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (NCCDP) has identified several types of wandering, such as environmentally cued wandering, recreational wandering, restless wandering, fantasy, and dangerous elopement. Elopement is the most dangerous type of wandering and occurs when a patient attempts to leave the nursing home altogether and wander outside. Residents can be seriously hurt or killed during these preventable events.

When confronted, eloping patients may respond aggressively towards staff and be unwilling to cooperate or return to the nursing home’s safe areas, harming themselves or others. Worse, if the issue is left unresolved, wandering incidents may continue to occur as it is common for residents who have attempted elopement to flee again.

4. Confusion and Increased Challenges with Simple Tasks

As dementia progresses, the ability to perform daily tasks such as dressing, bathing, eating, socializing, or walking decreases. Sedentary behavior in nursing home residents is also associated with an increased risk of illness and death.

5. Calendar Mishaps and Scheduling Mistakes

People living with dementia can lose track of dates, seasons, and important events like holidays or scheduled visits with friends and family. And sometimes, they have trouble understanding where they are, why they are there, or how they got there.

6. Misplacing Items and Accusing Others of Stealing

They may lose things, put them in unusual places, or be unable to go back over their steps to find them again. Your loved one may accuse others of stealing or misplace vital information and personal items, especially as the disease progresses.

7. Changes in Personality, Mood, and Decision Making

Mood and personality changes can happen to someone with early-stage Alzheimer’s or dementia. Individuals may experience changes in judgment make poor choices. For example, they may frivolously spend money or pay less attention to their eating and grooming. They can quickly become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful, overly excited, or anxious – and just as easily upset even when visiting friends or family or care staff and doctors they once trusted.

One of the most common signs of dementia, especially in the early stage, is forgetting information such as important dates or events, asking the same questions repeatedly, and increasingly relying on others to recall facts, people, or routines.