Mrs. Janet Riley is a 79-year-old Caucasian female with progressive cognitive and memory
deficits, emotional lability and behavioral changes for about 3
... [Show More] to 4 years now, especiallythe last
few months those symptoms have been worst. Mrs. Riley has been noted that she is unable to
complete her activities of daily living, and lack of interest in previous activities and friends. She
also mixes up words, forget names of familiar people, and gets angry when help is offered. For
her memory loss and confusion, medication such as cholinesterase inhibitors can be prescribed.
However, safety issue is the most concern for Mrs. Riley, and prevention is the key (National
Institute of Aging, 2017). The National Instute of Aging (2017) suggested that smoke and carbon
monoxide detectors should be installed in or near the kitchen and all bedroom, also all phone
numbers, include 911, poison control, hospital, PCP, and more, should be displayed next to
phones or anywhere easy to see around the house. They also suggested that safety knobs and an
automatic shut-off switch should be installed on the stove (National Institute of Aging, 2017).
Moreover, all medications, prescribed or OTC, need to be locked up. Alcohol, cleaning or
household products are other dangerous item that need to be removed from the home (National
Institute of Aging, 2017). There should be no weapons, guns, machinery or gas online cans
around the house of patient with Alzheimer’s disease (National Institute of Aging, 2017). Last but
not least, it’s important to make sure simplify the house to reduce clusters to prevent falling. Even
though it might not be ideal to hire a caregiver for Mrs. Riley, it doesn’t hurt to try since it’s no
longer safe for Mrs. Riley to live by herself anymore. Family can continue to check in with her or
even move in with her though this is not going to be easy. Nevertheless, these optionscan be
suggested to family. A deeper evaluation should be done with patient’s PCP or even a Neurologist
to formally give patient a diagnose of Alzheimer disease. In a worst case scenario, patient’s
daughter might need to become her DPOA (durable Power of Artorney) to assist patient [Show Less]