NBC Nightly News (6/18, story 9, 0:15, Williams) reported “new stats showing the hospital can be a dangerous place for Alzheimer’s patients as many families know too well already death rates and nursing home admissions both spike after hospital stays.”
The AP (6/19, Neergaard) reports, “People with dementia are far more likely to be hospitalized than other older adults, often for preventable reasons like an infection that wasn’t noticed early enough. Hospitals can be upsetting to anyone, but consider the added fear factor if you can’t remember where you are or why strangers keep poking you.” The AP notes that a new study appearing in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that “being hospitalized seems to increase the chances of Alzheimer’s patients moving into a nursing home — or even dying — within the next year.”
Related Links:
— “With Alzheimer’s, Hospital Stays Can Be a Hazard,”AP , The New York Times, June 18, 2012.