In the past, we’ve spoken on how to select a quality nursing home, or the right level of care your loved ones can expect once there. However, the initial act of transitioning our loved ones into a nursing home or other long-term care facility is often overlooked. While a move may be challenging, the end result should always be that your loved one is happy and healthy.
Moving mom and/or dad into a long-term care facility isn’t simply a matter of packing some boxes. Many factors are at play. They may be resistant to the move, or you may realize you need more help then you thought. To help make this transition a bit easier, here are some tips!
Five Tips For Moving Elderly Parents
- Communicate. As they age, many adults struggle with the idea of leaving their home due to their health. It may be a difficult conversation, but make sure that you have given ample opportunity to grieve, and talk about where and why they are moving.
- Plan ahead. Not only should you take care in selecting a quality facility for your loved one to live, you should also have a conversation about what their future home will be like. Showing them the layout, and/or helping them envision their day-to-day routine can ease much anxiety surrounding the move.
- Reach out to family. Not only is a move like this difficult and time-consuming, it can also be stressful. Enlist the help of people who will not only help haul boxes, but will also make your loved ones feel loved and cared for before, during and after the move! These are the same people you can turn to if there are issues that need addressing later in your loved one’s stay.
- Sort, organize and prepare for sacrifices. Moving from a long-time home into a care facility will undoubtedly require some downsizing. You must be reasonable when making packing decisions, but you must also honor you mom or dad’s emotional attachment to their personal belongings.
- Plan out moving day. A quality facility should do its best to make moving day as stress-free as possible. But only you and your extensive planning can make the transition run smoothly. Streamline by planning the day, hour-by-hour, communicating with your loved ones and coordinating with the facility every step of the way. If there is significant travel planned, ensure your loved one will have access to any necessary medication or personal items as soon as they arrive.
Selecting and moving loved ones into a long-term care facility can be stressful. But the health and well-being of a resident should never decline without cause once they are there. If you suspect that your loved one has experienced abuse or neglect at the hands of nursing home staff you need to talk with an experienced nursing home neglect attorney. Hupy and Abraham is here to help. Contact us online or call us directly at 800-800-5678.
