Opening of an Alzheimer, Research Proposal Example

Abstract

The objective of this study is to propose the openings of a 49-bed Alzheimer/Dementia unit in Marion, Illinois. This will be a completely remodeled addition to an existing skilled nursing facility. This proposal will include targeted focus groups to market and will make comparison with other skilled nursing home facilities within a 50-mile radius that offer the same type of services. A need exists to prove that there is a demand for these types of services and how we these services will be marketed prior to opening the facility and for ongoing success of the unit.

Proposal for Opening an Alzheimer Nursing Care Unit

Objective

The objective of this study is to propose the openings of a 49-bed Alzheimer/Dementia unit in Marion, Illinois. This will be a completely remodeled addition to an existing skilled nursing facility. This proposal will include targeted focus groups to market and will make comparison with other skilled nursing home facilities within a 50-mile radius that offer the same type of services. A need exists to prove that there is a demand for these types of services and how we these services will be marketed prior to opening the facility and for ongoing success of the unit.

Introduction

It is estimated by the Alzheimer’s Association that approximately 5 million Americans have some form of Alzheimer’s disease. This disease is one that is brutal in nature and that causes destruction of cells in the brain resulting in “memory, thinking, and behavior” problems. (Assisted Senior Living, 2011) Alzheimer is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and has no known cure although treatments do exist that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease making it critical that individuals with signs of Alzheimer’s receive quality medical supervision. Alzheimer’s disease is approximately 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases there are other types of dementia that affect seniors including:

• Frontotemporal Dementia
• Vascular Dementia
• Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
• Dementia with Lewy Bodies
• Mixed Dementia
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Huntington’s Disease
• Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
• Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (Assisted Senior Living, 2011)

 Requirements for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patient Safety

The advanced stages of these types of dementia result in seniors being required to live in special dementia care facilities which are reported as being designed “more for the safety of the residents than the standard of living.” (Assisted Senior Living, 2011) These facilities are reported as having a “very simple single floor plan” since dementia patients are easily disoriented One of the greatest of dangers to these patients is their wandering off and getting lost making it requirement that exterior doors of such type facilities are kept secure and that patients wear bracelets that activate the alarm when they leave the area. Primary activities in these facilities are reported to be “special memory care programs designed to slow the disease.’ (Assisted Senior Living, 2011)

Assisted Senior Living Facilities – Marion, Illinois

Individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia require different types and levels of care including: (1) assisted living; (2) Nursing home care; and (3) Alzheimer special care units (SCUs).  The Alzheimer’s special care units are reported to be designed to meet “the specific needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. SCUS can take many forms and exist within various types of residential care. Such units most often are cluster setting in which persons with dementia are grouped together on a floor or a unit within a larger residential care facility.” (Assisted Senior Living, 2011)

III. Assisted Living Units for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patients in the Marion, IL Area

Other facilities in the Marion, Illinois area include those as follows:

(1) Angel Acres, Inc

8380 Worleys Mill Rd

Marion, IL 62959

(2)  Country Acres

1100 N Pentecost Dr

Marion, IL 62959

(3) Country Acres II

1002 N Pentecost Dr

Marion, IL 62959

(4) Fifth Season Res., Radcliffe

915 N Radcliffe St

Marion, IL 62959

(5) Fifth Season Res., Reichert

401 E Reichert Dr

Marion, IL 62959

(6) Marion Rehabilitation and Nursing Center

1301 E Deyoung St

Marion, IL 62959

(7) Parkway Manor

3116 Williamson County Pkwy

Marion, IL 62959

Needs Assessment

It is reported that the State of Illinois is presently experiencing a shortage of nursing professionals and that this is particularly true in regards to the provision of care to older patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Reported specifically is that individuals with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease “…require extra levels of care that other patients don’t, so staffing shortages can hit particularly hard in those units. Sullivan says the cost and effort to care for that group of patients makes staffing shortages harder to get under control. At the Manteno home, the Alzheimer’s unit must be locked down at all times. Currently at full capacity with all 40 beds occupied, 60 people wait to be admitted to the unit. Some will wait up to two years, which is not unique to that facility.” (O’Brien, 2011) According to the management of the unit, “We need Alzheimer’s beds everywhere.” (O’Brien, 2011) There are reported to be a total of 111 beds available for Alzheimer’s patients who are all filled. Management at the unit states that the cost of updating older nursing homes and facilities are not appropriate due to inefficiencies. The stated model for future units is reported as the Alzheimer’s unit in the southern Illinois Anna Veteran’s Home. It is reported that the Illinois state budget for nursing homes allows those home to be staffed at 89% capacity. There are reported to be three federal veteran’s homes located in Danville, Marion, and North Chicago with the federal system for veterans experiencing strains in providing care for the older generation of veterans. (O’Brien, 2011, paraphrased)

Marketing Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Unit in Marion, Illinois

Research shows that assisted living communities are generally not connected to a hospital or nursing home and in fact, that 82% of these are not connected to either a hospital or nursing home. (MetLife Mature Market Institute, 2011) This proposal for a future Alzheimer’s and Dementia nursing care unit posits that the nursing care unit should be connected to both a nursing home and a hospital for obvious reasons. Individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia should have better access to their doctors and hospitals for purposes of treatment, testing, and participation in research studies and other Alzheimer’s and Dementia care programs and services. As well, the transition between assisted living and nursing home care would be more efficiently streamlined and couples in assisted living quarters would have better access to one another should one spouse require nursing home care earlier than the other spouse. This type of care system for those with Alzheimer’s and Dementia would enable a collaborative care unit of professionals that could integrate and optimize service delivery for the individuals who critically need ongoing medical care and supervision.

Summary and Conclusion

As noted in this proposal, the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 5 million individuals in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease in some form. This disease results in brain cell destruction with outcomes of problems in the areas of memory, thinking, and behavior. Those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are in need of quality medical supervision. This provision is needed critically in the Marion, Illinois area in the form of Alzheimer’s and Dementia care units. Based on the information reviewed in this study it is recommended that such a unit be constructed and that the unit be such that is connected to a nursing home and hospital to be staffed and integrated with the hospital and nursing home to better ensure provision of services to older adults with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

References

Alzheimer’s Disease Centers/Dementia Caregivers (2011) Assisted Senior Living. Comprehensive and Unbiased Info on Over 70,000 Senior Living Options. Retrieved from: http://www.assistedseniorliving.net/ba/alzheimers-disease-dementia-care/

Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs (2011) The 2011 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs. October. MetLife Mature Market Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/2011/mmi-market-survey-nursing-home-assisted-living-adult-day-services-costs.pdf

Nursing Homes with Special Dementia/Memory Care (Special Care Units) Serving Illinois (2011) Alzheimer’s Association St. Louis Chapter.

O’Brien, P. (2011) A Home of Their Own. Illinois Issues. Retrieved from: http://illinoisissues.uis.edu/archives/2008/06/veterans.html