Question:
Our mother is 84 years old, and was diagnosed as suffering fromAlzheimers about four years ago. We had to move her to a nursing homeon an urgent basis; nursing homes in Ontario (Canada) are regulated bythe provincial government. The provincial regulations stipulate minimum levels of care, staffingstructures and patient ratios, as well as the professionalqualifications of staff.

Some of our mother's friends have agitated to have her move to a newfacility run by a US company called Sunrise. It is classified as anassited living facility and is not regulated by the government - it setsits own performance standards. In point of fact there is nothing tostop them from asking our mother to leave if she becomes a problempatient; this can't happen in a nursing home in Ontario.

Has anyone had any experience with Sunrise in Ontario? We have askedabout the educational and professional qualifications of the staff, andthe answer we received was that the staff really like working with theelderly and are interviewed extensively to make sure they really do likethe work. We agree this is important, but they didn't know anythingabout some of the congitive impairments we have had to learn about, suchas apraxia and agnosia - and, if they don't understand these aspects ofaging, we are concerned that they will not be providing very good carefor our mother - even if the furnishings are great.

Answer: I'm in Ontario as well (we live in Toronto), and having done a lot oflooking around when my MIL needed care - I conclude, with a personwith Alzheimers, lovely surroundings and fancy food are not whatcount. Look for a place that specializes in dementia care. Also, lookfor a facility that offers various levels of care, so you won't haveto move your mother as she deteriorates (i.e. she won't get kicked outwhen she needs handfeeding, or can't walk or is incontinent).

Dolli ended up in Chester Village at Danforth and Broadview . She hadbeen in a really lovely place called the Harold and Grace Baker Centrebut that only lasted a year - they really were not set up to care forsomeone with Alzheimers, so nice didn't count for much when shestarted getting lost at 2 am in the building, couldn't tell time orget herself to meals or activities on schedule, couldn't dress or bathherself and couldn't even work the lock on her door. So much for thelovely double corner room with the impressive view and the pretty pinkcarpet.

Chester Village was not nearly as nice in terms how attractive it wasor in terms of room size and facilities, but it did offer locked andsecure AD wards with specialized care (all of their staff reallyunderstood how to deal with AD patients), and the real bonus wasprogramming designed specifically for dementia patients (they dideverything possible to provide activities that were stimulating,enjoyable and that AD patients could participate in).

I'm not going to tell you it wasn't a depressing place in a lot ofways - but honestly, look for an environment that meets HER needs nowand in the coming years, and don't judge a place by decor. AD can meanquite a stripped down looking physical appearance (no carpet, noclutter, tough furnishings etc.)Fancy food also counts for zip, given that AD patients often have areduced sense of smell and taste and a lot of trouble eating.