Home care support urged for Alzheimer's - Pittsburgh Business Times

A trip to the emergency room for a medical problem can actually worsen symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, making it imperative that the number of such trips be minimized whenever possible, Ransom Towsley^[1] told Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Brian Duke on Tuesday.

“Stays in hospitals, skilled nursing rehabilitation units or emergency departments can have a debilitating effect on a person with dementia and are to be avoided,” he said. “Alzheimer’s is a progressive, incurable and terminal disease that can take years to complete its course and it is often a fall or pneumonia or complication from another chronic disease that eventually causes death.”

The stresses of the unfamiliar environment, routine and caregivers can exacerbate the ailment that brought the patient to the hospital in the first place, he said. Towsley, who is senior director of community services at Oakmont-based Presbyterian SeniorCare^[2] , was among the people testifying before the Pennsylvania Alzheimer’s Disease Planning Committee.

The committee conducted a hearing Tuesday at the University of Pittsburgh^[3] .

An estimated 280,000 Pennsylvania residents have Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Department of Aging. Counting those with related dementias and the total number of people affected is closer to 400,000.

Nationwide, 5.4 million people live with Alzheimer’s and more than 15 million others care for people with Alzheimer’s and related problems, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

The committee is scheduled to make recommendations by February 2014 about how to best prepare for an increase in the disease in the coming years. Several speakers joined Towsley in requesting more support for home and community support services such as adult day care and Duke said Gov. Corbett had increased spending for this care by $50 million.

“This disease probably touches the lives of every Pennsylvanian,” Duke said.

Kris Mamula covers health care, insurance and employee benefits for the Pittsburgh Business Times^[4] . Contact him at kmamula@bizjournals.com^[5] or 412-208-3825.

References

1. ^{^} Ransom Towsley (www.bizjournals.com)


2. ^{^} Presbyterian SeniorCare (www.bizjournals.com)


3. ^{^} University of Pittsburgh (www.bizjournals.com)


4. ^{^} Pittsburgh Business Times (pittsburgh.bizjournals.com)


5. ^{^} kmamula@bizjournals.com (www.bizjournals.com)