Ask YC: Suggestions for Loved One's Dementia/Alzheimer's

This is slightly off topic, but not really, because it's still science. This is one of the smartest groups I know, so maybe I can get help with a personal issue. I am specifically NOT addressing this to a board that specializes on this topic, because I seek "out of the box" hacker-like thinking.

My mother is suffering from extreme dementia with a probable cause of Alzheimer's (her physician's words). She has reached the point where she can no longer care for herself, so she is now in a skilled nursing facility. She has stabilized and is receiving excellent personal and medical care.

She is 77 years old, ambulatory and active, lucid about 80% of the time, recognizes everyone, and interacts fairly well. She has a lot of trouble verbalizing and gets confused quite often. We are also starting to see classic memory loss.

My brothers and sisters and I intend to take full advantage of the expertise of her physicians whose specialty is "geriatric care".

Here is my concern. Just like the blind men and the elephant, medical practitioners only have solutions to the problems they see all the time. Like many other types of problems, in health care, sometimes you have to go "outside the box" to address things more effectively. I know many people who have helped loved ones with many different health challenges by going outside the system. But we know nothing about this condition.

In 2009, I don't want to say, "Gee, I wish I would have done something back in 2007."

Is there anything we should be aware of that our doctors don't know about (or won't tell us)? I plan to email this link to my brothers and sisters, so any comments, suggestions, or referrals would be greatly appreciated.