The Sedation Shortcut: Why Your Parent’s New Dementia Drug Is Solving a Staffing Problem

When agitation is treated with a pill, the beneficiary isn't always the person swallowing it.

At 2:15 PM on a Tuesday, the nursing home call light in Room 214 has been blinking for twenty minutes. Your mother, who has mid-stage Alzheimer's, is pacing the hallway, insisting she needs to go home to feed a dog that died in 1994. By Thursday, she is sitting quietly in a vinyl armchair, her chin resting on her chest, staring blankly at a muted television because her new daily pill has stopped her from being a problem for their skeleton shift.

More from The Conversation →   ·   Back to Perch   ·   Browse all stories