1. Josh Streeter
HCS 410
Case Study 3
11/13/14
The Mental health issue that I have chosen to address is Alzheimer’s disease. This
disease has been around for many years. Some studies have shown how this disease has come
about in the world is due to neurons in the brain that are not firing properly. It essence it’s like on
a windy day if you’re walking from building to building it takes you longer to get there because
the wind is holding you back. It is taking longer for the neurons to fire because something is
slowing them down. The thing that is slowing them down is called myelination. Myelination is a
fatty substance that surrounds the neurons that make them harder to fire and take longer to where
they need to go. Progressive mental deterioration in old age has been recognized and described
throughout history. However, it was not until 1906 that a German physician, Dr. Alois
Alzheimer, specifically identified a collection of brain cell abnormalities as a disease
(brightfocus.org, 2014). One of Dr. Alzheimer's patients died after years of severe memory
problems, confusion and difficulty understanding questions. Upon her death, while performing a
brain autopsy, the doctor noted dense deposits surrounding the nerve cells (neurotic plaques)
(brightfocus.org, 2014). Inside the nerve cells he observed twisted bands of fibers
(neurofibrillary tangles). Today, this degenerative brain disorder bears his name, and when found
during an autopsy, these plaques and tangles mean a definite diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease
(AD).
This disease hurts the population in many ways. First, Alzheimer’s disease hurts families.
It hurts families because dealing with a family member that has this disease becomes a huge

2. hassle in of itself. The care for that family member becomes a daily chore, making sure that they
have all their medication taken at the right time, making sure they don’t fall and break anything
or hurt themselves any other way. Sometimes they can become hostile and have episodes. The
family members must be ready to handle that if that happens. Another way that this disease has
impacted the population is that it is hurting the American economy. For example, caring for
people with Alzheimer’s disease will cost all payers. It costs Medicare, Medicaid and private
insurances like HMO and Blue cross over $20 trillion over the next 40 years (Johns, 2013). In
the year 2012, America will have spent an estimated $200 billion dollars alone just on
Alzheimer’s disease (Johns, 2013). The reason that it costs so much is because of co-morbidity
rates. For example, it costs Medicare 81% more if the senior with Alzheimer’s has a second
condition like diabetes (Johns, 2013). But if they only had diabetes then that would cost
Medicare 81% less which would save on the economy in a big way.
Currently there is not much being done to help people with mental health issues. Mostly
because we do not have the funds to keep up with the rising demands of people with mental
health issues. We have the aging population that have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. We
have the veterans that are coming back from war with PTSD, and we have all the other people in
the U.S that have other mental issues that need help. We just do not have the funds for everyone
to get help.
There are many things that can be done in the future to help with Alzheimer’s disease.
First, there must be more clinics that these seniors can go to get help. These clinics must have
full time patient care 24/7. People with Alzheimer’s disease need full time supervision. These
clinics should be separate from the nursing homes because the nursing homes are already
swamped with people that have these issues and do not need any more patients. That is why it is

3. a good idea to have these separate clinics so they can solely focus on these patients with the
Alzheimer’s disease.
The cost of the clinics could cost a good amount of money. For example, when starting
any business, you need to put money into it in order to be successful. For one clinic it could cost
up to a few million dollars because of all the staff and supplies. The quality of these institutions
will be very high. They have to be high in order to treat people with mental diseases. Good
quality of care will be given to all patients. These clinics will be geared towards seniors with
Alzheimer’s disease in each clinic there will be room for about 200 patients which is a good
thing because the less patients in one place the better care they will receive. The only concern I
can see with this project is not making enough money to keep running the facilities. It will be
very expensive and if there is not a lot of money coming in then the facility will be unable to run.
For something like this the government will have to monitor the facilities “corrected
issue”. They will be the ones that are checking up on if the facilities are making enough money,
giving quality of care and making sure that there enough resources. Some resources that will be
needed are good quality personnel that know how to work and deal with the disease of
Alzheimer’s. For example, nurses, counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists will also be
needed. Beds, TV’s etc. will also be needed. These resources will be ongoing because the
facilities will open all year round.
In conclusion, the mental health issue that I have chosen is Alzheimer’s disease. This
issue in impacting the families and Americas pockets in a bad way. The resolution that I have
chosen is separate clinics that are not part of the hospital or nursing home setting that can give
care 24/7 to seniors that are living with Alzheimer’s disease. There will be room for 200 patients

4. at one facility. Nurses, Phycologists etc. need to be qualified at their job. The government will be
monitoring the facility’s to make sure everything is running smoothly.

5. References
Johns, H. (2013, March 13). Testimony of Harry Johns. Retrieved November 13, 2014,
from http://www.alz.org/documents/national/submitted-testimony-050113.pdf
A History of Alzheimer's Disease. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2014, from
http://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers/about/understanding