Troy Johnson

Zack DePiero
Eng. 101-108
Dec. 16, 2016

The Lost
Did you know Alzheimer's is one of the most severe forms of dementia? The neurons
that produce the brain's chemical acetylcholine break communication with other nerve cells and
ultimately die. It is a type of dementia that causes difficulties with memory, thinking, and even
behavior. Alzheimer's is a disease that slowly progresses and gets worse over time. There are a lot
of genres that include textual evidence that are involved in this. Some including nursing reports,
different media outlets, patient care plans, and even reviews.
Genre is often times defined as a division or separate class or even things that are
regarded as having particular shared characteristics. While that interpretation is correct, In
navigating genre by Kerry Dirk she mentions genre is used primarily to form, which meant that
writing in a particular genre was seen as filling in the blanks (251). With my prior interpretation I
insinuated this meant that when referring to a specific genre I was conditioned to speak about that
and things that are related to it only. Nursing reports are written reports that transfer information
from one nurse to the other nursing staff on a daily basis. Nursing reports consist of the nurses
writing on which the observed during their shift. Knowing the rhetorical features which include the
audience, purpose, context and tone give a better understanding of a more diverse definition. Kerry
Dirk explored the broader aspect and definition of genre.

Media outlets which are a publication or broadcast that distributes news, which are
another specific genre consisting of a lot of writing. There are many types of media outlets which
include newspapers, magazines, social media, and pamphlets which are just a few of them.
Alzheimer's Association is the world's leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care,
support and research. They have been recognized as a top nonprofit organization by The Nonprofit
Times. In a pamphlet I came across in reference to Alzheimer's and dementia they spoke about
Steps to Take for a Person with Dementia. It talks about the changes that occur with the
progression of the disease. They also mentioned how the disease often times cause patients to
forget how to use simple household appliances which pertain to impairment in judgment.
Geriatric nurses are nurses who care exclusively for elderly patients. Alzheimers Association
states A person with dementia may be at risk in certain areas of the home or outdoors. Pay special
attention to garages, work rooms, basements and outside areas where there are more likely to be tools,
chemicals, cleaning supplies and other items that may require supervision. Older adults are at greater
risk for injuries and diseases more often and recurring. Geriatric nursing gears focus on preventative
care. Dealing with aged and sickly family members is not an easy task, geriatrics staff help families
deal with medical ailments that occur and develop later on in life. Biomed Central posted an article on
geriatrics and Alzheimers; in the article they stated Exercise rehabilitation on home-dwelling patients
with Alzheimer's disease may help with coordination and cognitive function. In this article it states
exercise can have a positive effect mentally and physically on nursing home patients with dementia.

Nurses also write and fill out nursing reports, these reports are to relay messages and
delegate duties to the oncoming nursing staff. I looked up a typical nursing report template and
some of the information included was name, date of birth and medical history. Working at a
nursing home on the Alzheimer unit I also see the nurse responsibilities. Their responsibilities
include handing out medication, giving report to unfamiliar CNAs and nurses. A new RN at a
typical SNF (Skilled Nursing Facility) will usually, but not always, start by passing out medication
and doing treatments for the residents. You also supervise the care the nursing assistants are doing.
You will probably be involved in Infection Control processes. You will be doing daily, weekly and
monthly assessments and paperwork reports on your residents; and you will be contacting the
doctors to report on changes you see, and receive updated orders. When referring to medical
history they list things like heart conditions but also include cognitive disease like Alzheimer's and
past behavior the patient has expressed. This includes issues in their past and behavior. On
scribd.com they provided a nursing care plan template. A nursing care plan is another form of a
nursing report. It includes different habits and behaviors of that particular patient. A patient with
Alzheimer's has a more detailed report because of the known effects of the disease but also the
unpredictability of when the behaviors may occur. It includes diagnosis which gives insight on
behavior that the patient has expressed due to the disease. In the pamphlet it explains how the
disease affects judgment; it then gave ways on how to deal with those particular changes in
cognitive thought and function. Scanning is not reading a form of literature word for word but
simply looking for keywords and points and then reading the detail and elaboration on it. I brought
up scanning because in a nursing report for example if the information was given and a breakdown
was listed on what happens with the Alzheimer's disease and the common behaviors a patient
might display, a nurse on duty would simply scan the care plan and look for highlighted behaviors
and what to do if the patient displays these behaviors. A family member reading a patients care
plan would most likely read into the behaviors and different effects of Alzheimer because they may
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not be educated on the subject of Alzheimer's.

Family members may even stop and ask questions on what certain terms mean or even
look them up themselves. Reading like a writer is when the reader reads and try to understand and
put themselves in the writer's shoes to understand what the literature they wrote means. Reading
like a writer may also be used when reading a care plan where doctors orders are written in.
Doctors language is full of jargon, abbreviations and often times not very legible. In Murder!
Rhetorically Speaking Janet Boyd states Doctors use medical jargon and lawyers use legal
jargon and they go to school specifically to learn the terms and abbreviations of their
profession.(Boyd 89).
Like many places nursing facilities have reviews. A review is a general survey of
something, especially in words; a report or account of something. It can also be a critical article or
report, as in a periodical, on a book, play, recital, other like; critique; evaluation. On one specific
facility in Cherry Hill, New Jersey I observed several reviews. In these reviews most of the people
were stating that the facility was very unsanitary , unprofessional , hostile environment. Not a very
good facility to put your family member by far. A lot of nursing home facilities have behavioral
requirements and if they are not equipped to care for your family member unfortunately they have
to decline services. This nursing home in particular nursing home takes any kind of patient with
extreme behaviors because it has many wings that specialize in different patient care. There is the
behavioral unit, the Alzheimer unit without combative behavior, the Alzheimer's unit with
combative behavior, the ventilator unit and the rehabilitation unit.

The costs of these services dont come cheap at all, but I would say theyre all worth it
for keeping your loved ones out of harms way. Some of the cost that may occur include ongoing
medical treatment or follow up visits, medical equipment if needed, home safety modifications,
and prescription drugs. Alz.org states that [Since Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, the type and
level of care needed will change over time. Care costs will vary depending upon where you live.].
They also state the average cost of long-term care services in the USA. It cost on average $80,300
for a shared room in a nursing home; $91,250 for a private room; $20+ per hour for a home health
aide; and about $59 per day to send them to an adult day program on a daily basis.
Genre is narrowly defined as a division or class regarded as having particular shared
characteristics. In navigating genre by Kerry Dirk she mentions genre is used primarily to form,
which meant that writing in a particular genre was seen as filling in the blanks. Alzheimer's is
one of the most severe forms of dementia. In nursing homes and assisted living facilities
Alzheimer's patients are some of the most prominent patient because of the high intense level of
care and the unfortunate fact that there is no cure. Nursing staff write reports and use different
styles of writing and reading when writing and interpreting the care plans and nursing reports.
Now would you agree with me on why I think the cost of dementia care is all worth it?

Work Cited

Boyd, Janet. Murder! Rhetorically Speaking.

Dirk, Kerry. Navigating Genres.

Brochures
http://www.alz.org/national/documents/brochure_stayingsafe.pdf

http://www.alz.org/documents_custom/brochure-public_health.pdf

Reviews
https://www.caring.com/local/nursing-homes-in-cherry-hill-new-jersey/silver-carehealth-care-center
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Article
Http://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1185/1745-6215-11-92
https://www.alz.org/care/alzheimers-dementia-common-costs.asp