Holding a family meeting takes some of the burden of care planning off your shoulders. Giving everyone a chance to share their thoughts shows you respect the other people who care for your senior loved one, and it minimizes the chances of people complaining later. Working through these steps helps your upcoming family meeting be as productive as possible.
Invite Who You Want to Attend
First and foremost, your loved one needs to be as involved as possible. If you can, have your loved one present during the discussion. If safety is a concern, consider including your parent via a virtual call. Seniors who aren’t capable of being present can designate people to speak on their behalf or record a message.
You’ll also want to invite other involved family members, friends, and neighbours. Some people also prefer to invite neutral parties, such as clergy members or professional caregivers, when they make decisions.
Gather Important Information
You’ll want to have all the information about your loved one’s current needs ready to share with everyone. Gather health reports and instructions for providing care at home. You can also perform a home assessment beforehand to see what assistance your loved one might need with making modifications to the living environment or handling daily activities.
Living independently is important for seniors who want to maintain a high quality of life. For some, this simply means receiving help with tasks that have become more challenging to manage over time. Even when families have the best intentions, they may not have the time to provide the care their elderly loved ones need and deserve. If your loved one needs help for a few hours a day or a few days a week, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a trusted provider of respite care Mississauga seniors can depend on.
Create a List of Questions to Cover
Every person is different, which means there’s no set list of questions to answer during the meeting. However, you can generally expect to discuss common senior health issues, such as whether or not your loved one needs help with transportation or cooking meals. If your loved one has a serious health condition, you’ll want to find out what everyone is comfortable helping with.
If family members aren’t able to help with providing care for your parent, consider hiring a professional home caregiver. Home care service experts are available to provide high-quality care to seniors on an as-needed basis. From assistance with mobility and exercise to providing transportation to the doctor’s office and social events, there are a variety of ways professional caregivers can help your aging loved one continue to live independently.
Give Each Person a Chance to Share
Once everyone is gathered, you’ll want to establish a safe place for open communication by reminding everyone they’ll all have a chance to speak. Encourage everyone to listen to what each person has to say before responding. Making sure everyone feels safe being honest ensures no one agrees to a part of the care plan that makes him or her uncomfortable.
If things get heated, it’s also possible to leave some topics open for consideration while you make decisions on the easier ones. As your group makes each decision, the stress load may feel lighter, which can pave the way for a compromise when you need it most.
Draft a Care Plan & Follow Up
A care plan should detail what will happen next along with who is responsible for carrying out each item on the list. Make sure to get affirmation from anyone who volunteers to help out, and try to make the care plan as detailed as possible. For example, knowing who will visit on specific days of the week helps you plan for any gaps in the schedule.
As you wrap up the meeting, remind everyone to plan to meet again. Holding a follow-up meeting a few weeks or months later allows you to address any new things that come up as you start working together to care for your loved one.
Managing an aging adult’s care alongside other important responsibilities can be overwhelming, but help is available. The type of at-home care Mississauga, ON, seniors need can vary. Some need assistance a few hours a day, while others require more extensive around-the-clock assistance. At Home Care Assistance, we tailor our care plans based on each senior’s individual care needs, and the plans can be adjusted at any time. If your loved one needs help with the challenges of aging, call one of our compassionate Care Managers today at 905-337-1200.