When it is Time to Decide on Skilled Nursing Care?

With an aging loved one, it can be difficult to decide on specialized care. However, often times it is more beneficial for both the caregiver and loved one to consider an array of senior care options. Nursing homes offer a wide range of senior care options including social interaction, professional medical care, personal care, and round the clock supervision. Here, Mark Berger Chicago, founder of the Illinois based healthcare company Villa Healthcare, offers some guidance on how to start the process, and help them get appropriate care.

According to official statistics, approximately six million American seniors are in need of senior care, but only 20 percent of those actually receive care in a residential community. This leaves the remaining 80 percent in homes with personal care that's usually being performed by a family member. But, caring for an aging parent or spouse is tough work that comes with great responsibility and long hours, which can easily create stress for both the caregiver and the loved one. Caregivers often feel isolated and overextended.

While the average caregiver provides care for 18 hours per week, one in five provides “constant care,” or at least 40 hours per week caring for an elderly loved one. Because many caregivers also work outside the home‚ an estimated 14.4 million full- and part-time workers balance caregiving and job responsibilities. Some family caregivers have to reduce their hours at work or quit a job, which also reduces their income. Many are discovering they cannot do it all. In fact, as Mark Berger explains, caregiver emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion is one of the main reasons a family eventually places an elderly loved one in a skilled nursing facility.

Unless they can find someone to help them, they tend to neglect their own lives, their health, their marriages, and their children in order to care for the ailing elder. Those without a support system are more prone to emotional strain and physical and mental problems.

If your aging loved one needs specialized care a, it may be time to discuss the possibility of nursing-home placement. When it is time for your aging loved one to move into a nursing home, there are some things you can do to make the transition easier. For example, Mark Berger Chicago suggests helping your elder take his or her most cherished possessions, which can help remain connected with his/her past. Once your loved one moves into a facility, stay involved and in touch through regular visits or phone calls when you can’t visit. Get to know the staff who cares for your loved one and work with them should any concerns arise about your loved one’s care.