Health
Overnight care offered for Alzheimer's patients who can't sleep
Posted: Oct 1, 2012 11:36 AM by Greg Boyce
NEW YORK (AP) - A "night camp" program offers hours of overnight activities for those with Alzheimer's and similar diseases, who often have trouble sleeping at night.
Their caretakers at home, meanwhile, get a treasured night's sleep.
Experts say there's a great need for such services, but costs are high and programs like the one at Hebrew House in New York City's Bronx borough are rare.
During a recent visit, patients danced or swayed to a raucous version of "La Bamba." Later they sliced bananas and assembled fruit salads.
For the more profoundly afflicted, there are quiet rooms in which the patients' senses are gently stimulated.
A geriatric psychiatrist says the program is preferable to fighting nature by insisting on nighttime sleeping.
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