I'd really like to believe this is an isolated incident, one resident fatally attacking another. However, it is becoming more and more common. Specially as Alzheimer's and other types of dementia type populations are increasing.

Do you step in to break it up, hope there is enough help around to diffuse them both? It's a difficult decision (maybe easier because I'm a guy) what the best course of action is.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com


Killing at nursing home raises broader concerns, October 6, 2004:"Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the nursing home during routine rounds to check on John Tamkun, 88, and his roommate, Thomas Mullen, 82. But before the night was over, Mullen was dead, bludgeoned with the footboard of a bed, and Tamkun faced manslaughter charges. The slaying Sept. 26 and the arrest of Tamkun, a retired cabinetmaker who suffers from dementia, have cast a spotlight on a growing problem at nursing homes across the country: violence among residents."
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...iolen1006oct06,0,1277687.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire