Most of the senior living calls I receive are from a stressed-out child of an elderly parent in the Skilled Nursing Facility. This person is busy with their own lives and finding out that their parents need a new level of care, which can mean a new normal for them. When an elderly parent gets discharged home, their level of care has often changed, and they need additional care. That can mean a more significant commitment from a family member or more hours from a caregiver.
Family Caregiver
A family caregiver may think they are saving money by doing their time and efforts to caring for a parent. Many times this comes at a great cost to the family member who is trying to chip in and help. Many adult children find themselves sacrificing their job, family commitment, and social lives only to make their relationships with their loved one worse than when they started. As you probably all ready know, this stuff gets complicated.
The first step in assessing someone’s care needs is to determine their current stage of care. Once you determine which stage of care your loved one is in, you should ask these questions to determine the number of hours they need to stay safe in-home or look for an assisted living option.
Questions to Assess Care
Watch my video on assessment elements that you can use to determine the amount of care your elderly parent may need.
-Do they live on their own?
-If another person lives with them, are they at risk of being injured?
-Can they ambulate?
-Do they follow instructions (will they use their walker?)
-Are they continent? Are they on hospice?
Answering these questions will often result in the solution of needing 24-hour care. This level of care is costly and can be pretty tricky to find in our current Caregiver shortage. It may be more practical financially to look at alternative senior living options.
Determine the right Senior Living option. Watch this video on what questions to ask to determine your loved one’s care needs. I can help you navigate these options, give me a call if you would like to discuss them.
Thanks,
David
805-748-2614