Not only did a recent study suggest that antibiotics are overused for people with advanced dementia, it also reveals the importance to the senior living industry of having clear directions for end-life care. The Harvard-affiliated Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston conducted the study, an overview of which appeared in the Associated Press on Feb. 25. More than 200 people with advanced dementias were followed for 18 months or until their deaths. The study addresses ethical questions regarding when to withhold treatment and let people die in a time of the proliferation of drug-resistant superbugs. In doing so, it implicitly drives home the importance to the senior living industry of instituting policies for having unambiguous end-life care instructions from family members for their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

A recent article in The Birmingham News highlights the financial difficulties that can arise as a result of an Alzheimer’s or other memory impairment diagnosis. Businesses would do well to recognize that potential clients and their families might have concerns over financial vulnerability and address those worries accordingly.