- Are the older adults you're caring for happy? Safety is crucial, of course, but so is emotional well-being. If they're riddled with anxieties or increasingly lonely, then that may tip the scales toward a move that may not be 100 percent necessary at this point for health and safety reasons. On the other hand, if they have a full life, close neighborhood and community connections, or simply enjoy being at home, it's worth exhausting every option before pushing them to move out of the home they love.
- How do others think they're faring? Sometimes it helps to get a second opinion, either from a family friend or relative or from a professional geriatric care manager who visits older adults' home and does an informal evaluation. While they may initially resist the notion of a "total stranger" checking them out, this one may be worth insisting on (offer to have a family member pay for it as a holiday gift). You may be surprised to find they're willing to share doubts or vulnerabilities with a sympathetic, experienced stranger that they're loathe to admit to their own children or family, easing the family conversations that follow.
- What do they want? This may be the most important question of all -- and you may be surprised by the answer. While an initial response may be a knee-jerk "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," many older adults harbor the same fears for their current and future safety and security that their caregivers do, even if pride keeps them from voicing them. Taking the time to sit down with them, draw out their concerns, and find out what they fear most about moving out and what they do want to change about their life -- rather than launching into your worries for them, or what you think they ought to do -- may give all of you the information needed to make the right decision for everyone concerned.
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Entire article-Thanks
It is the first time I see your site. I am from Quebec, Canada and I am french. Your site is very helpfull for me and my mother who is Alzheimer.
I would like to add that often times adult children make the assumption that once their parent(s) need(s) assistance, because they are no longer safe at home alone, that they must move to an alternative living environment. In Minnesota, Class-A licensed home care agencies can provide a one-to-one level of care that is a nursing home-level of care in a person's own home. The cost is quite similar to the cost of a nursing home or assisted living, and sometimes it is less! The caregivers have the same training as those in care facilities and they are well-screened. Since the caregivers work with the same client (1:1 client to caregiver ratio), very personalized assistance is always available for the client and the client and caregiver get to know one another to build a lasting relationship. Many people find great value in the ability to continue living at home and have personalized attention from a caregiver that they get to know and trust. Additionally, clients of Class-A home care in Minnesota have an R.N. to oversee all of the care that is being provide, make frequent home visits for consultation, do med-set ups and skilled nursing assessments, and coordinate whatever additional services that make staying home and living life in the community possible. If your parents are aging and showing signs of needing assistance, I encourage people not to assume that they have to move. Consider home care. Consider giving them what they want - life at home - and you want you want - peace of mind. Michelle, Community Relations Director of Homewatch Home Care in Minnesota