Paper for Nickel and Dimed: The Issue of Drugs in Nursing Homes

The Issue of Drugs in Nursing Homes

        In the past century, the U.S has taken great initiative in establishing nursing homes for elderly citizens. In recent studies conducted, the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] estimated that there were about 1.4 million citizens, ages sixty-five and older, living in nursing homes. According to the CDC, if the number of citizens in nursing homes continues to increase, by 2030 the number could rise to about 3 million citizens (“Home and Recreational Safety”). Since nursing facilities are responsible for caring for a significant amount of the elderly population in America, one would expect the caretakers to understand what is best for their patients. However, recent studies have revealed that many nursing homes have threatened the health of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia by providing patients with medication. 

Nursing homes threaten the lives of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia by providing them with antipsychotic drugs. Rather than tending to the specific needs of mentally ill patients, several nursing facilities simply subdue the occasional outbursts of their patients with medication. Many of the workers at nursing homes find it more convenient to simply provide their patients with antipsychotic drugs in order to ease any discomfort that patients with mental deterioration may experience (Jaffe and Benincasa.). However, research suggests that antipsychotic drugs may actually be more harmful than helpful for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. According to studies conducted in 2005 and 2008 by the FDA (First Division Association), an organization created to protect the health of human beings, antipsychotics increased the risk of death for older patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia (Boyles). The FDA even issued a “black box warning” on antipsychotic pills, warning people that antipsychotics have the potential of also increasing the chances of heart failure and infections among patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. 

Recent research even suggests that Antipsychotic drugs are not even necessary for patients with forms of dementia.  About ninety percent of patients who experience mental deterioration experience behavioral and psychological issues, which are not cured by antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotics were created to treat Schizophrenia and only reduce hallucinations and delusions, while soothing patients (“Antipsychotic Drugs”). These drugs are not even prescribed to treat dementia, however approximately nineteen percent of nursing homes in the United States continue to provide dementia patients with antipsychotics (Jaffe and Benincasa.). 

Several families, with loved ones in nursing homes, have been disturbed by the distribution of antipsychotic drugs in elderly facilities. Many families allowed their loved ones to receive these drugs because they did not realize that there were risks involved in consuming this medication. There have been several cases in which families have been disturbed by the effects of this medication on their loved ones with dementia. For instance, in a nursing facility near Sonora, California, the Sherman family was troubled by their mother’s change in behavior. The Shermans had agreed to allow Mrs. Sherman to receive medication, however they did not expect their elderly relative to act abnormally as a result of the drugs. Mrs. Sherman’s daughter, Marie Sherman, was pointedly upset by her mother’s condition, and noticed the effects of antipsychotics on her mother. She claimed that her mother seemed to be “out of her skin” and acting unusual. After spending time with her drugged mother, Marie stated, “I mean, she was calling for help. She was praying, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, please, please help me. Please take me, please get me out. The Sherman family eventually learned that their mother was provided with a combination of antipsychotic drugs there were made to treat schizophrenia, not dementia (Jaffe and Benincasa.). In other case, one elderly women, Patricia Thomas, died after receiving too many drugs in a convalescent home in Ventura California. Mrs. Thomas had went into intensive care in order to treat a broken hip, however she was provided with a combination of drugs, including antipsychotics, that harmed her health. Kathi Levin, Mrs. Thomas’s daughter, noticed that her mother was not behaving normally, even for a woman with Alzheimer’s disease. Levin remarked: “"Yes, my mom had Alzheimer’s, but she wasn't out of it when she went into the nursing home. She could dress and feed herself, walk on her own. You could have a conversation with her. My mother went into Ventura for physical therapy. Instead, she was drugged up to make her submissive” (Goodwin). Evidently, Levine was not impressed by the treatment that her mother received in the elderly nursing facilities. She, like many other families, was pointedly disturbed with the nursing facilities issuing of antipsychotic drugs for their patients. 

Overall, the issue of issuing antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes continues to exist in the United States. Although many states are alert of this situation, the issue continues to exist. Almost 300,000 nursing homes are currently receiving antipsychotic drugs, and continue to distribute them to patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia (Jaffe and Benincasa). This is an extreme issue as antipsychotic drugs are potentially harmful and unnecessary for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and cause increasing concerns among family members. Hopefully, as more concern is directed towards the issue of drugs within nursing homes, our nation will take initiative to completely stop this absurdity. Then families can relax, with the knowledge that their loved ones are being properly cared for. 

Works Cited: 

"Antipsychotic Drugs." Alzheimers Society. Alzheimer's Society, 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

Boyles, Salynn. "Dementia: Some Antipsychotic Drugs Riskier Than Others." 

WebMD. WebMD, 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

Goodwin, Jan. "Antipsychotics Overprescribed in Nursing Homes - AARP." AARP. AARP Bulletin, 

Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

""Home and Recreational Safety"" Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Jaffe, Ina, and Robert Benincasa. "Old And Overmedicated: The Real Drug ‘

Problem In Nursing Homes." NPR. NPR, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.