Subscribe
Dear Smith Family Members:
I would like to bring up Nursing Home care for your parents. The reason being is that your Dad is losing his balance more and more and ended up on the living room floor the other night. After several attempts to get him up ,the caregiver had to call 911 and have paramedics come to assist him. He was not hurt & refused any medical treatment and the rest of the night went well. Every caregiver has expressed concern and relayed stories to me of his “near misses”.
That same morning when I was there, your Mom lost her balance while trying to sit down at the dining table and crashed the chair into the glass hutch. She too was fine, but it did seem to startle her.
My concern is that one of these times one of them is going to really hurt themselves and if they are unable to return to the apartment, where will they go? I think it might be wise to start looking at nursing homes or assisted living facilities. This way there would be time to find one that will accommodate their needs and meets everyone’s approval instead of waiting until something does happen and then be forced to make some decisions within a limited time frame.
There are many things to consider. This process takes time. Finding out which ones accept Medicare, is there a wait-list, can they be together in the same room? What kind of activities are offered, how much staffing and assistance is available to each resident and raising any other issues that would need to be addressed is critical/crucial.
I would like your feedback on this matter and to know what ideas you all may have.
The last thing I want is for your parents to go into nursing care, but again, there is only so much care and assistance we can provide here in the apartment.
Thank you for reading!
Doris – Family Case Manager
Toby
/ July 11, 2012Since most families or folks move several months (some say 12-18) after the need is there, than if all indications are for Nursing Home than it is likely so.
My rule of them when working with families, after having an assessment of medical, functional and other needs, is to say that if someone needs 24 hour nursing care, then Nursing Home is the right placement.
If the family is wealthy then they can arrange in home care with LPNs and RNs in addition to the aides and essentially set up a hospital room in the home.
When the spouse or primary caregiver can no longer safely deliver the level of care needed- then Nursing Home is indicated.
Being in Home Care, we try to create the care plan at home. However, once that is no longer the correct and viable plan, we assist families in finding the right level of care – Assisted, or Assisted Plus, Group Home or Nursing Home – really depends on the medical, social, functional, financial realities of each individual situation.
Best Wishes,
Sherry Picker, MSW CMC
Boca Home Care Services, Inc.
Boca Home Care – Medicare Certified