When Dementia Strikes

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I have been doing some research on Resident-to-Resident Aggression in long term care, when the aggressive person has a diagnosis of dementia.  In extreme cases, dementia can cause people to react or respond aggressively towards others, sometimes leading to criminal offenses and sometimes even death.

I have also been working with couples who live in their own home, where the husband has a diagnosis of dementia, and has been physically aggressive towards his wife.  These situations are particularly risky for the wife due to her husband's ability to become agitated and harm her, combined with her desire to keep him home as long as possible.  The reverse can also be true, when the wife has dementia.

Aggression in people with dementia is a big problem in Canada, and I am sure around the world.  Here is a collection of articles from around the internet on stories that I thought were worth noting.  Hopefully we will be able to find a better solution for managing, treating and housing people with dementia who have the potential to harm others, in order to keep people safe, and to protect the dignity of those living with dementia.

Long Term Care (Institutional):

April 11, 2013, Australia:  Assaults in Nursing Homes go Unreported or Hundreds of Dementia Assaults going Unreported

March 15, 2013, Canada:  Woman killed, another injured, in attack at seniors residence in Scarborough

March 12, 2013, USA:  Resident-to-Resident Assault in Minnesota Nursing Homes

Feb. 9, 2013, Canada:  More than 10,000 Canadians Abused Annually by fellow nursing home residents

Oct. 26, 2012, Canada:  B.C. Senior Pushed to Her Death in Care Home

Feb. 8, 2012, USA:  No Murder Charges Against Man with Alzheimer's

June 11, 2011, Canada:  Double Murder in Nursing Home A Wake-Up Call

March 29, 2011, Canada:  Man, 87, Dies After Winnipeg Care Home Assault

June 11, 2010, UK:  Care Home Resident, 83, Killed Stranger He Mistook for His Wife

December 11, 2009, USA:  Roommate, 98, indicted for murder in 100-year-old woman's nursing home death

November 30, 2003, USA:  3 dementia patients dead in shooting.



Private Dwellings (Non-Institutional):

October 4, 2012, USA:  Wife, 77, Accused of murdering husband may suffer from dementia - continued making victim's meals for days while corpse remained

April 6, 2012, USA:  Shrewsbury Man Accused of Killing Wife, Cannibalism

Nov. 2011, USA:  Dementia Sufferer, 96, 'Batters 81-year-old-wife to death after thinking she had stolen his money'

May 11, 2001, USA:  Elderly man charged in death.


Documentaries:

February 9, 2013 - W5 - Crisis in Care, CTV

May 13, 2011 - Nursing Home Violence Show ,White Coat, Black Art, CBC

2007 - Grey, Black and Blue: Nursing Home Violence, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

October 22, 2007 - Nursing Homes: Fear and Violence, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

A sad and horrific state of affairs. 

Regards,

Angela G. Gentile