Anti-Psychotics for the Non-Psychotic

Entering a nursing home is a decision that many of us will make for ourselves and for the people we love. And when we make that decision, it’s with the hope that the highest level of care and professionalism will be administered. But for Alison Weingartner, this wasn’t necessarily the case. Weingartner selected a nursing home for her mother to live in that was close to her home, and that specialized in Alzheimer’s, which her mother suffers from.
At first, it seemed like a great fit. But within two years, Weingartner learned that her mother and other Alzheimer’s residents were being administered anti-psychotics, seemingly to make them more manageable. Weingartner never remembers signing consent forms for her mother to receive these drugs.  
Kay Lazar is a health reporter for the Boston Globe, who’s been covering Weingartner’s case.