Drug Topics - November 5, 2007 - (Page 17)

NOVEMBER 5, 2007 DRUG TOPICS 17 Hospital Practice years as baby boomers turn 65, the age at which people are at greatest risk of developing the disease. Salamon’s personal crusade to educate those around her about Alzheimer’s disease began with her father’s diagnosis and the misconceptions healthcare providers had about his condition. On the second day of his hospitalization, Salamon said, her father’s doctor suggested she think about his code status. “He had no idea my father was a functioning individual the day before,” Salamon said. “As far as this doctor was concerned, my father was a bedridden vegetable. He had no idea that my father was an individual Salamon keeps her fawho still had a life left to live.” ther’s memory close to Shortly after her father’s diagnosis, Sala- her heart each year as mon found solace in the local chapter of she participates in an anthe Alzheimer’s Association. The organiza- nual fund-raiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. tion, she said, gave her an outlet to discuss the frustrations she had with her father’s care, and it also provided her with a “shoulder to cry on” after her father died from the disease in March 2002. “The association gave me the tools I needed to deal with the situation,” Salamon said. “It helped me work through the issues I had with my dad’s care.” Salamon’s frustration with her father’s care and the fallacies healthcare workers often have about the disease are the driving force behind her fanaticism about educating others about Alzheimer’s. Her determination to improve the level of care for Salamon has participated in the Memory Walk each Alzheimer’s patients has led Salamon to year since 2002. She is help plan the association’s annual pictured here with Ellie Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Educa- Corrigan, a founding member of the East tion Conference. Salamon and other mem- Central Iowa chapter of bers of the association also helped ensure the national Alzheimer’s the passage of state legislation that created Association. an Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force. And, in an ultimate tribute to her father, Salamon has become protective of the elderly patients at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids who depend on her for their daily doses of medication. “It’s my job to look out for these patients. Pharmacists are the safety net for all that happens before us,” she said. “It’s our responsibility to look at elderly patients and think, ‘Is this really appropriate for them?’ Pharmacists can make a difference—a pharmacist’s job is to be a health resource. My father was a teaching physician, and I think he would be proud. I do this in honor of my father.” DT

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Drug Topics - November 5, 2007 Contents Latebreakers Latebreakers in Depth Letters Rx Care Community Practice 150 Years of American Pharmacy Hospital Practice Pharmacists at Risk Government and Law High-Density Lipoprotein New Products Advertisers Index Classified Viewpoint

Drug Topics - November 5, 2007

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