Traditions Prompt Many Hispanics to Hide Alzheimer's Disease

by Paul R. Kopenkoskey The Grand Rapids Press Tuesday September 09, 2008 Language and cultural barriers cause a significant number of elderly Hispanics with Alzheimer's disease to remain undiagnosed and untreated, experts say. The cultural tightrope Martin Vasquez Jr. walks has been stretched ever since he decided to admit his Alzheimer's-stricken father into a nursing home. Vasquez knows his family no longer has the ability to provide the round-the-clock care his 72-year-old father requires. But his Dominican Republic heritage has imprinted in him an abiding loyalty to the man who unwaveringly put his family's needs before his own.