Question

Discuss the most humane way for family members to take care of an Alzheimer’s patient. Is a nursing home the only alternative? Or would it be more humane (and less expensive to insurers) to keep many of these patients at home during the early stages of their illness, provided that adequate financial assistance was available? What may be the financial and psychological costs to families with either choice?

Answer 1

I would argue that both the options of keeping the patient in a nursing home or in their own homes can be considered humane, as it would depend from case to case. For a family with huge work related responsibilities, or a spouse who is himself or herself suffering from the pitfalls of old age, it would be beneficial for the patient to be admitted to the nursing home, where he or she can receive adequate care. On the other hand, if these restrictions are not present and a family or spouse have the internal and external resources to provide care to the patient, keeping them in the comfort of their own homes would be a better option.

Coming to the cost analysis, I feel that a nursing home is more resource extensive in terms of financial cost whereas home treatment is more resource extensive in terms of psychological cost to the caregivers. A huge amount of money has to spent on a daily basis when a patient is admitted to a nursing home, even at the earlier stages which requires basic care and amenities. On the other hand, keeping a patient at home takes a psychological toll on the caregiver as the patient requires continuous and constant attention due to which the caregjver’s personal life becomes severely restricted.