Dr. Robert House has seen it happen too many times — an older person who has been deemed aggressive left stranded without a place to live.
He fears it will happen more and more as the population ages and long-term care facilities continue to refuse to take on people who pose difficulties.
“Colorado is not really geared to have facilities to adequately care for populations like this,” said House, the director of behavioral health at Denver Health.
His comments came about the Feb. 21 attack that killed 76-year-old Gerald Propp in an assisted-living facility in Lakewood. Police say 87-year-old Homer Castor beat Propp to death as he slept in an adjacent room in the Atria Applewood facility.
Both had Alzheimer’s disease.
Castor gave police a scattered statement, saying Propp had touched his quilt. “It didn’t work out for him too well,” he told police while making a striking motion with his hands. “Fourteen times,” Castor said, according to a court record.
Castor was arrested for first-degree murder and is being held for a competency evaluation. It is likely he will never stand trial because state law says a person accused of a crime must be competent enough to participate in his or her own defense.
Increased physical aggression can be a associated with Alzheimer’s disease — a neurodegenerative disease that affects one in nine people 65 and older.
“We all hope to age in a way that we are sweet and compliant, but sometimes that doesn’t happen,” said Anne Meier, Colorado’s ombudsman for long-term care.
“We are not doing well as a state for people who need 24-hour care across all spectrums,” she said.
So what can be done?
“This is the biggest problem on my desk in terms of a scratch-your-head question,” Meier said.
Police say Castor had acted out before, which prompted the question of why he wasn’t in a facility with more care.
“There are none,” said House, who said “safety net” hospitals have become the de facto care facilities for people who have displayed aggressive behaviors or who become easily frustrated to the point where they lash out.
Assisted-living facilities and nursing homes don’t have the ability to care for people like this, and are refusing their placement.
So where do they go?
Denver Health has created a special, 10-bed inpatient unit called the Oasis Unit for their patients who cannot find placement outside the hospital.
Many of them have dementia, developmental disabilities or mental illnesses and have been aggressive or disagreeable.
No one wants them.
“They don’t need to be in a hospital, but need to be in something more specialized,” House said.
The Oasis Unit is always full, with patients sometimes waiting months for placement.
“It’s going to continue to be a problem,” House said.
” that is coming. The population of baby boomers is expected to double by 2030.
Unfortunately, cases like Homer Castor’s may not be so unusual as the tsunami begins hitting our shore.
E-mail Jeremy Meyer at jpmeyer@denverpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jpmeyerdpost
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