Alzheimer's Reading Room
State officials want a South Florida assisted living facility fined after one of its residents died from drinking dishwasher detergent.
Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration filed a complaint last month, asking an administrative law judge to fine the Homewood Residence at Delray Beach $10,000 for failing to maintain a safe environment. Officials say 93-year-old Michael Gruen was in the late stages of Alzheimer's Disease when he poisoned himself in December.
A spokeswoman for the facility's parent company said there was no way staff could have predicted the events that led to Gruen's death. She said the device holding the detergent was under the kitchen sink, and Gruen had to disconnect the hoses to get to the fluid.
A hearing is scheduled for July 2.
Source
There is a lesson to be learned here. Alzheimer's patients are prone to put things in their mouth -- any thing. Some of them will climb up on chairs to get at things like food. While it is impossible to cover everything, this example shows that you have to think ahead when it comes to Alzheimer's patients. Nevertheless, it is impossible to be "perfect". You just do the best you can under the circumstances.
See -- A Guide to Safe Guarding Your Home
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- What is Alzheimer's? What are the Eight Types of Dementia?
- Does the Combination of Aricept and Namenda Help Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Patients
- Alzheimer's Disease Statistics
- Is it Really Alzheimer's or Something Else?
- Ten Symptoms of Early Stage Alzheimer's
- Ten Tips for Communicating with an Alzheimer’s Patient
Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. Bob has written more than 1,565 articles with more than 8,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room