Nice idea, Rick.

Sounds like a good idea. From my friend Rick. If Rick was running a nursing home, he’d hire three levels of aides in the memory care unit. Where the dementia-riddled reside. The lowest level aides would perform janitorial duties. Keep the place clean. The middle level aides would do basic caring. Personal hygiene and tidying up stuff. The top level and highest paid and best–trained aides would interact with the residents. Individually.  One-on-one. Face-to-face. Providing mental and physical stimulation/therapy.  Especially to the Alzheimer-afflicted. Rick says that’s the biggest shortcoming in nursing homes. And I couldn’t agree more. About the need for more direct meaningful contact between the professional staff and the residents. Instead, Alzheimer patients are pretty much left on their own. They sit around. Watch television. Meander aimlessly. And if they become belligerent and difficult to manage – the all-too-usual solution is tranquillizing medication. An induced stupor. If that’s not a crime. It’s certainly an obscenity. –Jim Broede