March 31, 2010

German Nursing Home's "Cure" For Alzheimers

A nursing home in Germany has developed an unusual solution for a serious problem; Alzheimers and dementia patients who wander away and then get lost.  One of the workers at the facility in Dusseldorf came up with an idea that sounded crazy at first but they decided to give it a shot.  


Realizing the patients would leave in search of transportation, he suggested building a fake bus stop right in front of the nursing home as a way to "catch" them.  Not only did it work, it changed the way that employees dealt with patients in general, reducing stress and increasing the patients well-being.  


I found out about this whole fascinating story on the NPR RadioLab podcast.  You can click here to hear it in its entirety or you can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.