Obstacles to Senior Care Decisions

One of the biggest problems that people face when their trying to help a loved one get set up with the right senior care is that there are so many factors to consider when making the decision. Even something that should seem simple to you hardly ever is. There might be competing opinions within the family, for example. Also, what seems like it is clearly the best choice to you might not even be welcomed by your mom or dad when you propose the idea to them. Something that seems like a great choice might be met with vehement opposition. And when that opposition comes from the person that you mean to help, it can make your seemingly simple choice suddenly very tough to arrive at.

 

Take assisted living as an example. Assisted living facilities are not skilled nursing facilities, and the residents of these homes are often given quite a bit of freedom. They have help on hand if assistance is needed or requested, but there are not caregivers and nurses hovering over the residents or restricting them. All of the residents are living together in a home, and rooms can even be private, if so desired. In reality, these facilities can sometimes be more like apartment buildings than they are senior care facilities.

 

You may suggest an assisted living facility to your mom or dad, thinking about it in the above terms. But what you have in mind might not be what they do. They might hear the words “assisted living” and think about nurses, and wheelchairs, and a complete loss of freedom. This is a scary thought, as you can imagine. No one wants to be “institutionalized.” They just want to live their life.

 

Making decisions about senior care are not always simple, especially when other opinions are involved.

 

Unfortunately, the nature of senior care is that it provides assistance because an elderly individual can’t just live their life safely on their own anymore. The struggle that you will face is balancing the right amount of supervision with the maximum amount of desired freedom. This is why so many people are becoming more agreeable to in-home care. It presents the freedom of home, avoids around the clock care, and encourages your family to keep going about their daily routines. Care is provided, but it’s on the person receiving the care’s terms, and not that of a home. In other words, care is given, but it is much more adaptable to the wants and needs of the person receiving it. They’re not required to give up freedom, but help is still there.

 

In-home care is not right for everyone. As always, please speak to a doctor familiar with your loved one’s needs if you have questions about what the best type of care for them is. People with advanced medical needs can receive in-home care, but medical in-home care is a very different thing than nonmedical in-home care. But, as long as you are familiar with all of your possible choices for a loved one’s care, and then can present them to your family, a decision can be made that more people are on board with, and this can help not just your loved one to have a higher quality of life, but it will reduce stress and tension within the rest of your family, too.

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