An April 13 article in the New York Times took an in-depth look at the Henry Rayhons case which has drawn national attention in recent weeks.
Ann Christine Frankowski, associate director of the Center for Aging Studies, was quoted in the article and discussed how dementia symptoms tend to fluctuate and patients can often be lucid in the morning and significantly impaired in the afternoon. “What may be appropriate on one day may not be appropriate the next week, or at a different point that same day,” she said.
In the article, Frankowski also discussed what she has discovered in her research with some staff member attitudes towards sex in assisted living facilities:
In other facilities, though, Dr. Frankowski said: “I find staff members saying ‘It’s wrong. Old people don’t do this, they had spouses in the past, they have family member that would be concerned.’ ”
“Sometimes they will say to the resident, ‘Do you really want your daughter to know about this?’ And the staff members do really and truly believe they are doing the right thing.”
To read the full article in the New York Times, click here.