Caregiving Programs for Dementia, Alzheimers Patients - AARP
ElderServe at Night, the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, Bronx, N.Y.
Nighttime can be grueling for caregivers. Dementia can wreak havoc on an individual's sleep cycle, leading to sleeplessness, night terrors, wandering or agitation.
"We heard the pleas of family caregivers who weren't sleeping at night and couldn't function the next day," says Deborah M. Messina, Hebrew Home's adult day and evening services director. "It was leading to family tension and premature nursing home placement."
To help, in 1998 the Hebrew Home at Riverdale began offering adult day services — at night. Those enrolled can socialize, putter in the garden, visit the circus, do yoga, paint, cook, listen to live music or get a mini-massage. They receive prescribed meds, plus physical, aroma- and light therapy. "If they want to walk through the halls at 3 a.m., staff members are there," says Messina.
