Jean: Diagnosed with Dementia
When We Started
Jean was 70 years old and had a successful career. Her family was caring and her siblings and children were involved in her life. At one point, she lived in a senior community but was not able to stay there because of her increasingly difficult behaviors. She was moved back to her own home and was living alone with part-time, non-medical agency caregiving services in place.
Below are some of her behaviors:
- Napping 2-3 times during the day
- Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol
- Got up several times during the night
- Moods and negative behaviors included agitation, anger and aggression
- Medication compliance was questionable at best
- Poor diet and not exercising adequately
Interventions We Performed
- Restaffed the caregiving team
- Implemented medication changes and monitored behavior
- Implemented changes to improve the safety of the home and yard
- Established a daily routine including better diet and exercise, among other things
- Provided training and coaching with the home care agency and family members
Outcome for Jean
- Stopped smoking and drinking
- Cooperated around taking her medications
- Negative behaviors were eliminated
- Sleeping patterns were returned to a normal schedule
- Moods changed from negative to happy and upbeat, with improved diet, exercise habits