How to Protect Dementia Patients from COVID-19

800 536 Joe Casciani PhD

See original article here.

As if protecting everyone from COVID-19 infection isn’t hard enough, there are unique and very difficult challenges to reduce the risk of infection with patients who have a dementing illness. What can be done in different residential settings to protect these individuals or protect those in the larger community. Think about how you would deal with communication difficulties, manage social distancing, or reduce confusion and disorientation. This seems like a daunting challenge. But this article from the Alzheimer’s Association outlines the steps that health care professionals and caregivers can take to reduce the vulnerability of this population a variety of settings, including hospitals and ER departments, community-based settings, and long term care communities. There is also a host of valuable resources, tips, instructional videos, and guidance sheets to aid the professional community. As terrible as this pandemic is for our society, especially for those residing in different health care settings, there is a vast amount of help out there. This article is high on the list of helpful information.