CAPE GIRARDEAU NURSING CENTER OPENS ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE UNIT

When a family member has Alzheimer's disease, it can be scary.

"Even though you've known this person all your life, it's like someone else is living in that person's body. I didn't know what he might do next," said Allie Taylor, of her 73-year-old husband, Emmet. He is a patient in the newly-established Alzheimer unit at the Cape Girardeau Nursing Center, 2852 Independence.

Several area skilled nursing facilities have opened specific units for Alzheimer patient care in recent years.

The Cape Girardeau Nursing Center, will hold a grand opening for its new unit at 2 p.m. Friday, and the public is invited to attend. The 24-bed unit will officially open Monday.

In 1989, the Lutheran Home established the first Alzheimer's unit in Cape Girardeau. The facility has 22 beds. A year later, the Missouri Veterans Home also responded to the high demand with a 50-bed special unit.

"Quite a few people in this area need health care for Alzheimer's patients," said Betsy Sumner, director of nursing at Cape Girardeau Nursing Center. "They keep family members home as long as possible, but often the patient shouldn't be left alone for a moment, which can put a great strain on the family."

Even though the Alzheimer's unit at the Nursing Center is not officially open, several patients already live in the special unit.

"If residents really need to come in," Sumner said, "we will take them early."

The staff is being specially trained by the Alzheimer's Association for care of patients, she said.

Sumner said Alzheimer's patients often wander aimlessly and don't know where they are. As a result, special security measures must be taken to keep patients from wandering off. They are allowed to wander within a confined area and can get fresh air outside in the courtyard and gardens, she said.

"We put special locks on the doors so they can't just open the doors, wander into traffic and get lost," Sumner said.

Sumner said Alzheimer's patients need extra nutrition because with the disorientation of the disease, they tend to lose weight. Sometimes, they either eat twice or won't eat at all, she said.

Special activities are planned each day, she said, to keep the patients aware of their surroundings.

"The disease process often takes a great deal of time, but every individual will react differently," Sumner said. "Over time, the patients degenerate to the point that they're unable to get around at all."

Allie Taylor of Uniontown began noticing changes in her husband about three years ago. He started repeating himself, lacked energy and wanted a lot of sleep.

"He began to get very confused," Taylor said. "For example, he got lost on a familiar road when he was driving, and he was beginning to lose his way around our home and yard.

"He tried to cover it because he knew that something was wrong, but he couldn't help himself," she said.

Taylor said her husband's condition kept getting worse each day. Even the neighbors noticed his difficulty in remembering details, she said.

For example, if it had just rained, he'd tell the neighbors, "Oh, we really need some rain today."

The family doctor suggested that she put him in a nursing home because he could no longer be left alone.

"I was trying to work until I retired," Taylor said, "but he needs to be watched day and night."

She said he seems contented at the nursing center. He sleeps a lot and is in no pain. Also, he participates in a few of the activities.

"He is allowed to walk the hallways at any time of the day," Taylor said. "He's not restrained in any way."

Sumner said the disease progresses in definite stages. At first, the patients become very forgetful, she said. Patients can't remember where they've left an item or why they've gone into a room.

"When the disease progresses even more, the situation becomes worse," Sumner said, "and patients don't remember eating, can't identify where they are and don't know family members. They can usually go back and remember what happened in their childhood, rather than what is currently going on."

In the final stages, Sumner said, patients are often bedridden. She said sufferers are usually in their 60s or 70s when the disease strikes, but there are a few cases of patients in their 40s.

Sumner said no one knows what causes the disease. "They can only diagnose by samples taken from the brain after death," she said.

She said many families find it difficult to accept the disease because they feel a stigma is attached to any sort of mental problem.

"We are starting a support group for families," she said. "The families go through a lot because they have to deal with fact that their family member doesn't know them anymore."

Janice Unger, administrator of the Lutheran Home, said she doesn't know how facilities can handle patients with Alzheimer's disease without a special unit.

"Staffing in these units is very important," Unger said. "The patients are harder to handle and must be constantly monitored. Since it's very trying emotionally for the caregiver, it takes a special individual to work with Alzheimer's patients."

Lissa Vancil, L.P.N. at the Missouri Veterans Home, said there was a definite need in the Cape Girardeau area for special care for Alzheimer's patients.

"They can try a person's patience because a lot of them must be fed and can't remember to go to the bathroom," she said. "However, there are many rewarding times, like when they remember a name or a face."