•Planning ahead for your aging loved one’s care is essential if you want to ensure they can fully embrace and enjoy their golden years.
•Having open and honest conversations with aging relatives and family caregivers can help you prepare this plan.
•Part of your plan should be assessing the needs of the aging adult and anticipating which areas of their lives they will need assistance with.
As adult children, we may find ourselves facing a journey of caring for our aging loved ones.
It’s both a privilege and a responsibility to ensure that their golden years are filled with love, comfort, and support.
Part of this responsibility is planning ahead for the emotional, physical, and psychological changes that happen with age.
In this article, we outline practical ways to develop a care plan and how LogicMark can help ensure your loved ones are safe so they can enjoy this time in their lives.
What is a Care Plan and Why is it Important?
An aging adult care plan is a little bit like a strategy for addressing the evolving needs of elderly people as they navigate the later stages of their lives.
A care plan helps you consider the medical, financial, and emotional well-being of an aging loved one. The main goal of this plan is to ensure their dignity, independence, and comfort.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a care plan can reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations. It also supports family caregivers so you can stay healthy and happy, too.
Your care plan needs to consider:
Who their caregiver will be
How they will be supported emotionally, financially, and physically
Who will be responsible for assisting them when they need help
Always try your best to honor the wishes and requests of your aging loved one — this is the most important part of your plan.
Where to Start with Your Care Plan: Open and Honest Communication
The best care plans start with honest and open communication. Before you begin planning, you should have a discussion with the elderly person you’re creating a plan for.
You also need to have a conversation with your family members.
Have a conversation with your aging loved ones
You shouldn’t make any plans or decisions about the care of an aging loved one without speaking to them about it first.
We know that these may be tough conversations to have, but it’s important that you get a clear understanding of what they envision for their future.
You want your aging loved one to be completely comfortable with the decisions you make and feel like their wishes are being respected.
Hold a family meeting
The next step in your aging adult care plan is to meet with everyone who will be involved with supporting your elderly relative.
We understand that family meetings can be difficult to navigate. Here are some tips for a successful family meeting about a care plan:
Strive for honesty and transparency in your communication. Try to encourage everyone present to participate in the discussion.
Plan an agenda for your meeting so that you cover all the important points relating to your aging loved one’s care.
Many families make the mistake of having this meeting once and not communicating about the care plan again. Be sure to keep everyone updated and involved through regular communication.
Consult healthcare providers and social workers
You may want to involve a social worker in your planning. They can help you make decisions and locate resources to help you pay for care.
For example, they can provide input on:
Planning for incontinence
Managing diseases such as Alzheimer’s or dementia
Providing physical assistance based on your loved one’s age and medical requirements
Assess Your Aging Loved One’s Needs
Once you’ve had these important conversations, the next step in your planning should be assessing your aging relative’s needs.
You’re going to need to think about their daily living, where they’re going to need support, and the tasks they may be unable to do as they age.
Personal care needs
Will your aging loved one have trouble bathing or getting dressed? Are there aspects of their personal care that they’ll need assistance with?
You might want to plan to get a paid caregiver or home health aide for a few hours a day to help with these tasks.
Household responsibilities
Does your aging family member need help tackling household chores, grocery shopping, or yard work?
You may want to think about using a grocery delivery service on a regular basis to have food delivered to their home.
You can also arrange for a cleaning and gardening service to visit a few times a month to help with these tasks.
If your nearby community center offers this, arrange for a relative to eat there a few times a week.
You may also want to get a family member to help cook a few meals or join your aging loved one at mealtimes.
Financial affairs
Are you worried that your aging family member won’t remember to pay utility bills or that they may have difficulties managing money?
It’s important that you speak to your aging loved one about who should handle their finances. You want to choose someone that they trust to give them total peace of mind.
In terms of paying for any care they may need, you might want to speak to geriatric care managers in your area about the benefits, social security, Medicare, and resources available to aging adults.
Health and medication
You need to find out from your aging loved one’s doctor exactly what medication they need to take and specific dosage instructions if they have any health conditions.
You’ll also want to establish what kind of care they need in relation to their health so that you can prepare for this.
It’s also important to think about having someone in your family accompany your aging loved one to their doctor’s appointments to take note of any advice or recommendations they give.
Safety and security
More than anything, you want your aging loved one to be as safe as possible, whether they’ll be aging in place or moving to assisted living.
One of the best ways to plan for your aging loved one’s care is to ensure their physical environment is set up to prevent things like falls and accidents.
If your aging loved one has dementia or any other condition that affects their cognitive abilities, there are certain steps you need to take to ensure that their home is safe.
You may also want to consider investing in a medical alert device that your aging loved one can wear so that help is available at the touch of a button.
Depending on the device and how it’s set up, a medical alert device enables your loved one to connect to emergency services or their caregiver in the event of an emergency.
Put Together Your Loved One’s Care Team
Now that you have a clearer picture of what your aging family member’s specific needs are, it’s time to put a team in place to help care for them.
Your team may include a primary caregiver, geriatric care managers, a home health aide, and health care professionals.
You want your aging loved one to get the quality care they deserve, and putting some thought into their care team can go a long way to ensure this is what they get.
Key Point: Write It Down
Write down your entire care plan for your aging loved one.
From who takes care of each responsibility to the services you hire, and even their wishes for life-sustaining treatment — write down your entire care plan for your aging loved one.
Having everything recorded in one place makes it easier for multiple family members to work together to care for your aging relative.
The Ultimate Safety Companion for Older Adults
At LogicMark, we understand that one of the main concerns you may have when it comes to caring for your aging family members is their safety.
That’s why we’ve developed the Freedom Alert Plus, an intelligent medical alert device that can be worn around the neck or attached to a belt.
This technology connects your aging relative to emergency services or their loved ones when they need it. And, with built-in fall detection, you can rest assured they’ll get help right away.
The Freedom Alert Plus is also designed to give your aging loved one independence and a sense of safety as they enjoy their golden years.
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