If you are looking for senior assistance for your elderly parent, you will probably search around for some time before you find the right assisted living facility or in-home care agency. When you find what you want, you will be given a "senior care summary sheet." It is very important that you fill out this sheet completely. Here is more information on what this is, and why you have to be quite thorough when you fill it out.

The "Sheet" Itself

A lot of care agencies and nursing facilities refer to this as a "care sheet"-- singular. However, it really should be "sheets"-plural. It is a valuable resource of information provided by you and your parent (if he/she is lucid enough) regarding personal cares, medications, hobbies, daily habits, etc.. Nurses and nurse's aides can reference these sheets whenever they need to know more about the people for which they provide care.

Why You Have to Be Thorough When You Fill out the Sheet(s)

You are giving your elderly parent over to total strangers and trusting them to take care of your parent. For the nursing staff, you would naturally want them to know as much as possible about your mother or father so that the nursing staff can provide the best possible and highest quality of care. To do that, they must first read all of the information you provide on your parent via your parent's intake form and care sheet(s). That is the first reason for being quite thorough.

The second reason for being thorough is that you know your mother or father better than anyone. You know what makes him/her happy, what pushes his/her buttons, and what sets him/her off on a tirade. You also know that your parent likes certain things to remain routine, which helps maintain a sense of personal security and familiarity for him/her. If the nursing staff does not know these important quirks and practices, the nursing staff will inadvertently upset your parent. Inadvertently upsetting anyone, especially an elderly patient, often leads to lots of other problems that could have been avoided.

The third reason for being thorough is so that your parent will remain as safe and as healthy as possible. If your parent wanders off, staff need to know this. If your parent frequently forgets his/her medication, the staff need to know that, too. If your parent has any major health concerns, health risks, or safety risks, you have to list these things so that your parent is carefully monitored and effectively cared for.

Contact a company like Helping Hearts At Home for more information and assistance. 

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