Alzheimer's disease is an incurable disease, the prognosis of which does not sound optimistic at all. On average, patients who have just found out about their diagnosis have 8–9 years of life left. However, its duration and quality can be improved if appropriate measures are taken to treat and care for Alzheimer's patients. In boarding houses for elderly people suffering from this and other complex ailments, all the necessary conditions are provided to slow down the progression of the disease and stabilize the patient's well-being.
Pensions for the elderly
There are no specialized medical centers that care only for the elderly with Alzheimer's. Patients with senile dementia are found with other patients. The only restriction for staying in society is the manifestation of aggression. In this case, the patient is sent for treatment to a neuropsychiatric clinic. If the patient does not pose a threat to other people, there are no obstacles to his stay in a boarding house.
For Alzheimer's patients, there are state and private institutions. In any of them, proper care is provided, good nutrition and a bed are provided. In both budget and private boarding houses, Alzheimer's patients are provided with medical services, including drug therapy, classes to train thinking, consultations of narrow-profile specialists and a psychotherapist.
There are similar guest houses in every region. In Moscow, boarding houses for Alzheimer's patients are considered one of the best in the country. Here, elderly people with senile dementia are constantly looked after by qualified medical personnel. All professional nurses have a specialized education, therefore they are able at any time to provide first aid, to put an injection or dropper.
Why is a guesthouse better than home?
In Russia, there is a stereotypical opinion that no specialized institution will take care of the elderly as their relatives could. The responsibility to care for sick parents lies with their children, and supposedly throwing it off their shoulders is wrong. However, most often care is not only kind words and support. It is important for patients with serious neurological disorders to provide quality care and treatment, which is often not possible at home, and also requires a lot of effort, patience and money.
Old people suffering from this syndrome can harm not only other people, but also themselves, which happens very often when such patients are at home, where there is simply no one to monitor them. Of course, his relatives determine the place of residence of a person with senile dementia, but, as practice shows, it is better to make a choice in favor of a boarding house for Alzheimer's patients.
What is the difference between public and private nursing homes
The main difference between state rehabilitation centers for older people from private ones is the lack of queues. To determine the patient for budgetary support, you can wait more than one year. In private boarding houses for Alzheimer's patients there are no queues. In addition, potential guests will not have to collect huge packages of documents. As a rule, a medical policy and a passport are enough for registration.
Compared with free budget institutions of this type, private have the best equipment. There are comfortable conditions for year-round or temporary residence. In Moscow pensions for patients with Alzheimer's modern and comfortable furniture, household appliances are provided for use, no more than four people live in the rooms, leisure is more diverse. In addition to standard drug treatment, some institutions provide additional services (physiotherapy, massage, art therapy sessions, etc.). In addition, in private centers nurses look after and care for 3-4 old people, and in state boarding schools this figure can reach 10-15.
As a rule, private homes are located outside the city in cottage villages, so in the noisy and bustling Moscow there are very few boarding houses for Alzheimer's patients. In the Moscow region there are several dozen such institutions.
How are homes designed for older people with Alzheimer's
Pensions for patients with dementia are arranged on a similar principle. On the ground floors of the cottages there is a common living room, dining room. Here, guests cook food. At the bottom there are also bathrooms and gyms for easy training and physical fitness. On the second floor there are sleeping rooms.
On the territory of most boarding houses for Alzheimer's patients in the Moscow Region there are small gardens, kitchen gardens, greenhouses, where guests can do what they love to do - grow vegetables and herbs. Also, old people regularly walk in the fresh air and communicate with each other.
About the history of boarding houses for people with dementia
The first mention of shelters in which elderly people suffering from senile dementia were found dates back to the 14th century. Then no one knew about dementia and Alzheimer's syndrome. It was difficult to call boarding schools for such patients as boarding houses or clinics, because no one was engaged in treating people in them. Such institutions were intended only for one thing - isolation of the mentally ill from society.
At the end of the century before last in France, there were more than a thousand private homes for the elderly. They appeared in other countries of Europe, a little later - in the USA. The residents of such clinics were lonely elderly people who were unable to service themselves. Among them were not only poor, but also very wealthy citizens who needed proper care.
In Russia, boarding houses for patients with Alzheimer's disease most often opened at temples. In the Soviet years, the state took care of people with senile dementia. Even under Stalin, the first nursing homes were created, reminiscent of European ones, although the level of comfort in them was clearly not up to the overseas. They also provided lodging, food and medical assistance.
In modern Russia, private pensions for Alzheimer's patients arose about 20 years ago. In the first boarding houses, living was very expensive, so only wealthy people could afford to place elderly relatives there. Today, prices for services in boarding houses are available for people with average incomes. Comprehensive care is provided for patients with dementia at any stage, comfortable living conditions are created for them and a variety of leisure activities are organized.
Therapeutic measures
Although Alzheimer's disease is incurable, everything possible must be done to slow its development in the early stages. Medications are prescribed to patients individually, depending on the severity and rate of progression of the disease. In boarding houses for Alzheimer's patients in Moscow and the region, drug therapy is a compulsory medical service.
As a rule, doctors prescribe psychotropic and nootropic drugs to such patients, which inhibit the process of dying of brain cells and stop symptoms. Medications help maintain the ability to care for themselves as long as possible, which is very important for Alzheimer's patients. In boarding houses near Moscow, the staff ensures that patients take medication on time.
Additional therapeutic measures are mindfulness, logic and memory exercises that stimulate mental activity. If you deal with a person constantly, not isolate him from society, but allow him to communicate, take walks, perform simple tasks, dementia will progress more slowly.
How to choose a good pension for patients with dementia
In a specialized nursing home, a patient with Alzheimer's does not have a chance to get lost, harm others or try to take his own life. Qualified trained personnel perfectly recognize the symptoms of memory loss, have an idea of typical patterns of patient behavior, possible complications with a particular variant of the development of the disease.
Choosing a pension for an elderly person with dementia, you need to pay attention to the following points:
- Schedule staff. Work shifts should be made in such a way that there are no temporary gaps, the so-called “windows”. Nurses should keep an eye on the condition of guests around the clock in order to immediately solve problems and help people at any time of the day.
- Floor plan. The boarding house is equipped in such a way as to exclude the possibility of injury to patients. At the same time, it should be easy for guests to navigate in the building and in the surrounding area. Most private boarding houses are equipped with elevators and ramps, which allows people with limited mobility and paralysis.
- Schedule of meals. All activities should take place according to a well-established schedule, starting from the moment of awakening and up to going to bed. The food of the guests should be balanced, at least 4-5 times a day.
- Personal doctor. Each patient is assigned a doctor who conducts regular examinations, monitors the development of the disease, and adjusts the treatment program.
Next, we will consider several popular boarding houses for patients with Alzheimer's syndrome in Moscow and the Moscow region, as well as study reviews about them.
Pension Butovo: reviews
This institution, as you might guess by its name, is located in South Butovo, not far from the Buninskaya Alley metro station. According to reviews, the prices for services here can hardly be called the cheapest (the minimum cost per day of stay is 1200 rubles per person) - this is the main and only minus. In general, the majority of those who had to entrust their elderly relatives to local specialists were satisfied with the service provided, although the treatment programs for patients with dementia do not differ in anything special.
Patients of different categories live here, not only with Alzheimer's disease. Pension in South Butovo - a place for the rehabilitation of people with senile dementia, who have suffered a stroke, heart attack. The facility is equipped with everything necessary for bedridden patients. Users also note that the territory is well guarded; CCTV cameras are installed around the entire perimeter.
The atmosphere in the boarding house itself is favorable: in the courtyard arbors are equipped, benches are installed, flowers are planted, paths are paved with paving slabs. The boarding house itself resembles a mansion that is specially equipped for the elderly and sick people. The rooms are renovated, and each bedroom is equipped with an alarm system. Of the benefits, users call:
- high-quality six meals a day;
- the presence of a shower and toilet in a box with a bedroom;
- Wireless Internet, thanks to which the elderly can communicate with family.
House of an elderly person in the "Heat of Beloved" in Domodedovo
It is worth noting that we are talking about a network of boarding houses for Alzheimer's patients. In Domodedovo there is one of the houses where the life of the elderly with various diseases is exciting and interesting. Among the guests are elderly people with diagnosed dementia, diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, sclerosis.
To accommodate guests in a boarding house there are double, triple and quadruple rooms. As in many other institutions of this type, the cost of staying here depends on the severity of the patient's condition. If a person with senile dementia cares for himself and moves around, the minimum price for a day in a boarding house is 1440 rubles. For severe and paralyzed patients, the cost is higher.
Judging by the reviews, most people choose this particular institution because of its convenient location. The guesthouse is located in a quiet place, far from dust and urban smog, among green spaces. At the same time, it is easy to get here - the way from the Domodedovskaya metro station to the nursing home will take only 10 minutes by car or public transport. Users also note good conditions for bedridden patients. They have beds with anti-decubitus mattresses, ramps, necessary medical equipment.
Network of boarding houses for elderly people "Longevity"
There are many positive reviews about the complexes of guesthouses for the care of the elderly “Longevity”, located in ecologically clean areas of the Moscow Region. In these institutions there is everything necessary not only for medical treatment, but also for a pleasant pastime for patients with Alzheimer's syndrome.
The network of boarding houses “Long-Liver” includes three complexes - “Aprelevka”, “Vidnoe”, “Pushkino”. The cost of living in a nursing home starts from 750 rubles. per day. The guests themselves note the sensitive attention of the staff and the opportunity to lead an active social life. Here old people do not feel abandoned or unnecessary. On the contrary, the situation in the boarding houses helps to stabilize the state of mind.
Private boarding homes for patients with dementia "Eden"
Pensions are located in the suburbs. To date, centers for the elderly are open in Ramenskoye, Malakhovka, Zvenigorod, Domodedovo and Balashikha. For admission to the institution requires standard documents. In general, Eden guesthouses satisfy the needs of guests and their relatives. In reviews of these institutions you can find many minor nuances, which in general allow you to get a positive picture of the institution. A number of points indicate how seriously the administration approached the issue of guest safety. For instance:
- there are no glass, sharp, piercing, or breaking objects in the premises;
- sockets are closed with plastic plugs;
- mechanisms are installed on the windows that exclude the possibility of prolapse of patients.
The staff of the institution includes nurses, nurses and doctors with many years of experience working with seriously ill patients, including those with senile dementia. For patients with Alzheimer's disease, special programs are used that help maintain mental abilities at the level necessary for a normal life.
Alzheimer's syndrome, accompanied by dementia, makes the elderly person's relatives make difficult decisions. Many blame themselves for identifying sick parents in a specialized boarding house, rather than caring for them. This is wrong, because high-quality professional care is the real concern.