Building a Care Team for Your Senior After an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: Who Should Be Included?

After your parent’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease is a time of decision-making and putting plans into place. Now is the time to start making these important decisions and getting them established because your elderly parent will have their greatest strength of mind and cognitive functioning, which means that they will be best able to make these decisions, and that both of you can feel more confident moving forward as you make decisions and help them to live the quality of life that they desire and deserve.

You are the center of your parent’s care team.

One of the most important decisions that you will make during this time is who will be on your care team. A care team is a selection of people who will help you to give your aging parent the care that they need, and will work together to ensure that your parent’s needs are met in the best way possible as they age in place. Who is involved in your care team is a very personal decision and one that you will need to make along with your parent to ensure that you have built up the team that will be most effective, compassionate, and beneficial both for your aging parent and for you.

You will always be the one who is planning and orchestrating their care, and the one who will ensure that all other members of the team know what is expected of them and what they need to do to handle these tasks.

Others who you might consider including in your parent’s care team are:

• Family members such as siblings and children.
• Friends of your parent who are younger or more capable.
• Friends of yours who are familiar with your parent and willing to help.
• Neighbors who have become close to your parent and can contribute time and energy to helping them with certain tasks.
• Spiritual leaders and those within the spiritual community who can provide this level of support and comfort for your parent.
• Elderly care providers who can fill care gaps and ensure that your parent has constant access to care so that you can take the time that you need to also take care of yourself.
• Members of their medical team who will help to manage the medical approach to their care and support their wishes for their future.

If you have been looking for ways to enhance your aging parent’s quality of life and ensure that they are getting everything that they need as they age in place, starting elderly care for them may be the ideal solution. An elderly home care services provider can be with your aging loved one on a customized schedule that works for them. This means that they will have access to ongoing care, support, and assistance, but you can continue to give them all of the care that you are able and willing to give them. Through a set of highly personalized services, this care provider will help your parent to address their individual needs, challenges, and limitations while also encouraging them to maintain a lifestyle that is as healthy, independent, safe, comfortable, active, and fulfilling as possible throughout their later years. These services can be particularly valuable if your senior is living with health issues and challenges, such as Alzheimer’s disease, that require care and assistance on a regular basis.

If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Bryn Mawr, PA, contact the caring professionals at Reliant At Home Care today (610) 674-6860 .