The term aging is regarded as the accumulation of changes that occurs on the human body as well as the human mind as a result of time (Martin, 2011), which affects an individual’s motor, memory and musculoskeletal movement. As the human body experiences senescence, there are specific diseases that manifest accordingly and are seen quite ubiquitously in certain age groups, the elderly patient population are more prone to diseases than the younger population group (Bjorklund & Bee, 2008). Some specific diseases that are quite commonly seen in elderly patients include coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accidents, as well as age-related cognitive deficits such as dementia, memory loss, and Alzheimer’s disease (Bjorklund, 2008). One specific type of disease that is quite common in elderly populations and has presented itself as a concern for health care providers are cognitive deficits associated with elderly is dementia (Henkel & Rajaram, 2011). Considering the lapses in memory and the ever changing mental status of elderly people with cognitive deficits, they require help from social care services personnel.
One article that addressed this particular issue is entitled How acute care managers can support patients with dementia, which was written by June Andrews. The American Psychiatric Society defines dementia as the progressive, degenerative illnesses experienced by old age, which results in the impairment of brain function and cognitive ability (Martin, 2011). The human services personnel works directly with patients with dementia if they work in a practice setting that serves the elderly community; and they are either come in the form of registered nurses, nurse managers, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists or patient technicians. Andrews (2012) reveals that not all hospitals have proper training in dementia care, which should be a mandatory training program considering the fact that the number of dementia patients is expected to double in the next 20 years (Andrews, 2012). An important tool in the preparation of the hospital staff as well as the training of newly recruited registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, physical therapists, and patient care technicians is through the guidance and supervision of acute care managers (Andrews, 2012).
One of the key points that the article expounds on is the importance of knowing one’s patient, and pivotal to this processes is by making sure that the personnel in the hospital’s admission wing screen and identify patients who have dementia from the moment of admission or immediately afterwards. By doing so, the charge nurses, or otherwise known as acute nurse managers, will be ready to assess the situation and to make the necessary action in asking for an attending psychiatrist during the care of the patient (Andrews, 2012). The development of social services for senior citizens with age-related conditions was aided through the ratification of the Older Americans Act, which was signed into federal law in 1965. This law led to the creation of the Administration on Aging, which was responsible for funding grants to the 50 consecutive states for purposes of community and human services programs and for the development of the Area Agencies on Aging (Martin, 2011). These said programs operate on the local level and disseminate information to professions dealing with such conditions, health care facilities and social services facilities , shedding light on the numerous issues affecting the American elderly population, in particular is dementia. This said relationship will eventually allow the nursing staff to establish rapport with the patient. It must be noted that a nurse’s ability to develop a rapport with patients is an important part in managing dementia patients. Andrews (2012) establishes a strong point by affirming how important it is for a nurse to be engaging with his or her patient , especially dementia patients, so as to create an air of intimacy and trust , which is essential for the care of dementia patients.
Contrary to popular belief, the relatives of elderly patients who are suffering from mild dementia or severe dementia actually care for their relatives and this care was the catalyst for their turning over of care to hospital staff. The family carers and service personnel who look after said patients have to make sure to communicate with each other so that the hospital staff knows what kinds of preferences in food, in sleeping provisions as well as in social opportunity the patient prefers and this knowledge is usually given by the family caregivers (Andrews, 2012). So there is this essential codependency on acute nurse managers who communicate with family care givers so to dispense proper information to the nursing staff to better meet the specific needs of the dementia patient.
The roles of the human services personnel in regards to the caring for dementia patients is one that is varied and eclectic, yet pivotal for the patient’s health. Human services professionals are the psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, acute nurse managers, registered nurses, patient care technicians, transport specialists, social workers, as well as the family caregiver. The family caregiver is usually the wife or husband of the patient, the son or daughter or even the grandson or granddaughter of the patient with dementia, and has been trained in provision of activities of daily living, which enables them to care for their relatives at home to a significant degree (Martin, 2011). It is the family caregivers who aid in the physical activity of the patients, which increases the health and the immune system of affected patients (Baker, Meisner, Logan, Kungl & Weir, 2009). The acute nurse managers are the personnel who train the nursing staff, the patient technical staff , the hospital transportation specialists in how to communicate and deal with dementia patients in the best possible way. This dissemination of knowledge and expertise comes handy because this will allow the nursing staff to communicate properly with the patients as well as the patient care providers in regards the patient’s preferences in food, in routes of formulation as well as living conditions. The psychiatrist, who is a licensed medical doctor, is also another human service professional who delegates information and medical orders and treatment plan to the nursing staff and counsels the patient as well as the patient’s caregivers. The clinical psychologists also functions in a similar way by counseling the patient as well as the care givers on dementia-related issue (Andrews, 2012).
One way to increase social welfare programs that can assist the elderly , especially the elderly who require moderate to constant management by health professionals is to invest in social business. Social business represents as a possibility for opportunity to develop the infrastructure for social services that can help the senior citizens. Social business is a new form of organization in the social services sector that combines both profit and social interests. The United States can do well and may benefit from adopting this concept of social business, which has been employed in many countries in Europe, in particular Lithuania (Cepinskis &Kanisauskaite, 2010).
The United States can also do well to further increasing social services sector funding by appropriating more funds for social services, which will enable the government to better care for persons that are vulnerable (Baker et al, 2009). The article indicated the main problem as the lack of education in regards to dementia patients and the best way to solve this situation is by increasing funding for training of nurses, physicians, and allied health staff in how to deal with dementia patients through increased social services programs (Andrews, 2012). One way in which care managers can address the situation is by properly identifying vulnerable patients, engaging the support of carers and establishing a sense of trust between the caregivers and the hospital staff, and improving the nurse’s ability to engage with dementia patients in a engaging and positive manner thereby establishing a healthy rapport.
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