Alzheimer’s Center: A Dream Come True

When Dorothy Kirsten French could not find a suitable hospital or nursing home for her husband, a victim of Alzheimer’s disease, she decided to build one herself.

That was four years ago, and Friday morning in Los Alamitos, French celebrated the official opening of the John Douglas French Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, the nation’s first medical center designed to care exclusively for those affected by the degenerative brain disease.

So far, 180 people have applied to become patients at the 148-bed center, and the applicants are being screened by doctors, said medical director Stephen Read. Patients will begin arriving next month.

The center was built by the nonprofit John Douglas French Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease and National Medical Enterprises Inc., a private health services company that owns the Los Alamitos Medical Center.

Namesake a Patient

“Today we celebrate hopes and dreams come true, a model of what people who care can achieve when they join hands with the private sector,” said Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), who spoke at the opening. “Public and private sectors must be willing to fight Alzheimer’s disease.”

The center’s namesake, co-founder of the UCLA Brain Research Institute, will be one of the first patients admitted to the $10-million center.

“It was terrible to watch this beautiful man deteriorate before my eyes,” his wife, Dorothy Kirsten French, said in an interview. “But I’m very pleased that he will finish his days here.”

In the United States, an estimated 3 million people have Alzheimer’s. The cause of the disease, which normally strikes people over 65, is unclear, but research indicates that genetics may play a role.

There is no known prevention or cure for the disease, although there has been research suggesting that one medication, tetrahydroaminoacridine, may alleviate the symptoms, said Read.

The new center includes facilities for day care, respite care, long-term care and counseling for family members.

‘Butterfly’ Floor Plan

The three-story center’s “butterfly” floor plan is designed with open spaces because confining rooms are unsettling to Alzheimer’s patients. Each nursing station, supervising no more than 25 patients, is centrally located so that nurses can observe patients who tend to wander.

The nursing care will be intensive, with emphasis on spending time with each patient because such simple things as meals can take up to two hours, said Read.

French said to the 500-person gathering Friday that the staff would care for patients with “love and compassion.”

“One hundred forty-eight patients will live here in dignity for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Read said that under his direction, the center will conduct clinical research on caring for Alzheimer’s patients. He said the center is also interested in collaborating with researchers focusing on treatment and pinpointing the cause of the disease.

Tom Henry, executive director of the center, said costs will be $125 daily for a private room, $100 for a semiprivate room, $25 for an eight-hour day-care program and $15 for a half-day program.

Read said that paying for the care of long-term patients is a “huge problem facing society.”

Wilson said that Congress has increased spending for research on Alzheimer’s disease and that he has introduced a bill to establish a pilot program to allow federal employees to put aside a portion of their insurance policies for long-term health care.