You always have options for care. Our agency was called into help a family. Care for a woman with dementia to help support the husband and 4 children that are all active caregivers supporting their parents. The children all shared in the care and stopped in 3 times a day. We were to support them with a few hours of care in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon mainly for personal hygiene the sons could not perform on their mother. After starting the case and being in the home for a few weeks the wife had a medical complication and needed some hospitalization and was transferred to rehab. It has now been a few weeks and the children started up our care in the home now to support their Dad.
Today we meet with the family. The son was very worried about his Mom. She seems to be declining quickly at the rehab facility and starting to get depressed. The son would like her to return home. The son is worried that his Mom will get up and fall at night to use the bathroom. Even though we met with them and they know we provide up to 24 hour care he didn't realize we can customize care to fit the needs of his family. Families do have options of care and need to be educated that these options exist. Care can be customized to meet the needs of the clients and be adjusted at anytime. Families need to work with a care team that is willing to find care that is needed when it is appropriate for the family and not care that is convenient for the agency or caregiver assigned to the case. Families have options and they need to be diligent to find the right resources for their loved ones on their terms.
To all families out there please let the professionals know what your fears and worries are. If you are working with a Social Worker or Care Manager they need to know what your thoughts are so they can find out the solutions for your family. I love a challenge and find many families are appreciative of suggestions we can offer them. Every family needs to find the right road to take and sometimes may need to take a detour to get to then final destination! When they reach their final destination they will be thrilled with the results,. Quality care for their loved one!
