Managing Care After a Move to Assisted Living

When your loved one moves to assisted living or memory care, your role changes. Now instead of being the caregiver that performs the caregiving, you watch over the cares being provided.  Communication is key. Here are some tips to help ensure all goes smoothly.

Before your loved one moves in understand:

1. Cares that are to be provided.
2. Your rights to see your loved one’s records.
3. What regular communications you should be receiving.
4. Communicating concerns about your loved one’s care.
5. How complaints are handled and escalated.
6. Process for medication management and administration.

After your loved one moves in, be observant and ask questions if you notice:

1. Changes in behavior.
2. Clothes that aren’t clean or aren’t theirs.
3. Items in their room that aren’t theirs or are missing.
4. Personal care issues such as un-brushed teeth or hair, body odor or bruises.
5. Your loved one pulling away or unusually reticent around staff.

Seeing any of these signs does not necessarily mean there is cause for concern, but they should be questioned. If these types of issues are coming up regularly request a care conference to discuss.

Knowing the staff and continuous communication is critical