Alzheimer's patients given choices

PHOENIX, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- An Arizona nursing home has found that allowing Alzheimer's patients freedom to eat and sleep when they want makes them happier and easier to care for.

Beatitudes has also done away with restraints, The New York Times reports. They try to adjust care to each patient's needs and history.

Tena Alonzo said patients can even get an alcoholic drink if that's what they want along with food like chocolate and bacon.

"Whatever your vice is, we're your folks," she said.

Staffers objected to one change, taking patients to the bathroom instead of putting them in diapers, Alonzo said. But they found the new procedure is actually less time-consuming.

Arizona state regulators have sometimes found Beatitudes' practices strange. Alonzo said they questioned the lack of large group activities -- Alonzo says few patients actually participate in them and one-on-one activities are more helpful.

"The state tried to cite us for having chocolate on the nursing chart. They were like, 'It's not a medication.' Yes, it is. It's better than Xanax," she said.

Beatitudes now has such a reputation that other Arizona nursing homes send doctors and staff members there for training. Several Illinois homes are also adopting its methods, the Times said.