Hi Diane: You are so right! This is VERY hard to do but safety is the main thing. Thanks so much for writing, Sue

Hi Nancy: Great question! It would seem to make sense to have clocks everywhere and that should solve the problem of "what time is it?" The problem is that in many cases, dementia causes a person to lose their ability to see the clock as an object to help them tell time AND to use it to be able to figure out the time. We removed some of our unit clocks but left others for staff use. It didn't seem to make any difference (in terms of assisting in lessening the confusion) to have clocks around at all because the residents on our unit had mostly lost the ability to use them for telling time. The staff usually winds up being the time keeper for anxious residents. When you think about it, finding out the time (when a person asks staff), doesn't seem to soothe the person much as they may not know what to do with that information. A difficult area for family and staff to handle and of course, anxiety provoking for the person with dementia. Thanks for writing, Sue

Hi David: Thanks for adding it to your blog roll and of course, thanks for commenting! Sue

Hi Karen: Thanks for the words of support! Sue

Molly: I so agree! So often the guilt and the "shoulds" drive us to stay in difficult caregiving situations rather than seek more appropriate solutions. Thanks for writing, Sue