So my Mother has Alzheimers. She is in the middle stages. She can still perform all activities of daily life. We recently (November 2017) put her into a very nice Assisted Living facility. Unfortunately, we are beginning to realize that this might not be a good fit. It seems the further along the Alzheimers progresses the more my Mom becomes a hypochondriac. She constantly thinks she is sick. She gets herself so worked up into a panic that she actually makes herself vomit. I thought that the Assisted living facility would help care for her... but they have kindly made it clear to us that they are not a nursing home. That they will keep her safe by checking on her every 2 hours... giving medication to her....assistance with showering, which she doesn't need. But they don't have the staff to handle her constant "health needs".
She has been though so much these past 3 months. I DREAD the thought of having to move her again. She is cognizant enough to HATE a nursing home. I just wish we could get her hypochondria under control.
Any advice would be extremely helpful. FYI- She is taking Zoloft but it doesn't seem to be helping.
As a side note, Memory Care is another flavor of assisted living. AL residents may need some help managing their meds, help with ADLs and so forth (many have walkers and wheelchairs, but are still functioning mentally.) In a Memory Care unit, there are/can be a number of residents who also have walkers and wheelchairs, but the deciding factor is the dementia. Our mom still manages to take care of the basics (wash, dress, toileting, eating) but cannot remember what she said or did two minutes ago. So AL would NOT be a good choice as she sometimes needs help finding her room or could just walk out the door (residents are NOT locked in or specifically watched in AL - they might catch someone who has dementia sneaking out, but if distracted by another, no one is there to watch them! This is one reason why they have a locked down unit for various dementia residents. There is also a little more help provided, so it does cost more.)
Our mother is beyond AL, but nowhere near needing SNF. She gets up and washes, dresses and feeds herself in the dining area (they are given choices for the meals too.) She requires very little assistance, but cannot be left in an open environment. She recently moved a little in level, asking and talking about her mother as if she were still alive and asking to go back to her previous residence (one gone about 40 years, the other sold 23+ years ago) and repeats statements and questions many times, but still does NOT need SNF!