Where do I start in planning care for my parents, who have dementia?
You are already doing the first thing you need to do to help them. You are showing interest in their welfare; surely they are isolated enough from the world already but you are minimizing that isolation. Please do not underestimate how much your contact probably means to them. The next step is to problem solve around your mother-in-law’s immobility. She can benefit by having a home care nurse to assess the situation from checking for skin breakdown to her outlook on life. If you inform her doctor about the immobility he has a number of options to choose from, one of them is to order home care. Being bed-bound usually fits the criteria for “skilled care” in the home. Skilled care is typically covered by payors and their low-income status is unlikely to be a barrier to obtaining a home assessment visit. Keep up the good work. The next step is to problem solve around your mother-in-law’s immobility. She can benefit by having a home care nurse to assess the situation from checking for skin breakdown to her outlook on life. If you inform her doctor about the immobility he has a number of options to choose from, one of them is to order home care. Being bed-bound usually fits the criteria for “skilled care” in the home. Skilled care is typically covered by payors and their low-income status is unlikely to be a barrier to obtaining a home assessment visit. Keep up the good work.
