Dementia Care Plan Along With Respite Care

While it is not at all certain how dementia is going to affect you and your family on a personal level, the statistics bear out the fact that this kind of illness is going to increase in the population in keeping with the advanced age the average individual is now attaining. Sadly, dementia cannot be prevented, cured, or even predicted in most cases, and for many there is little left to do but come to grips with a diagnosis that affects a loved one and which will spell out the need for a lifelong care plan as part of the overall care the patient must receive.

Incorporating respite care into a dementia care plan is not always readily considered; in part because the caregiver is so focused on the patient's health and overall wellbeing that it does not even enter her or his mind to think of taking time off. After all, there is so much that needs to be done, organized, and set in motion and in addition, the kinship caregiver is still in the early stages of care giving – just like the patient is still in the early stages of dementia – and as such the toll on the caregiver's sensibilities has not yet been taken.

Remember that the patient is going to slowly but surely become incapacitated with respect to living autonomously, to go on with day to day activities within society unless assistance is rendered, and at the more advanced stages of dementia there is the stated need for assistance with the most basic bodily functions. As you can see, incorporating respite care into a dementia care plan early on is a wise choice for the caregiver since it prevents resentment from creeping into the relationship and thus marring the overall care giving efforts.

For a wise dementia care plan and also to facilitate the setting up of a workable solution to everyday problems and eventualities, consider the foregoing:

• Set up a relationship with a respite care provider. You may opt for an adult daycare setting or for an in home caregiver to visit the patient in your absence. This may be either a volunteer respite worker or someone who is from a professional respite organization.


• Contact a home healthcare agency and see what services might be covered. When combined with respite care, the visits of a certified nursing assistant can give you a bit of an extra breather when it comes to meal preparation and also personal hygiene for your loved one.
  
• Have a medical emergency bracelet engraved that identifies not only you, the loved one, but also the treating primary care physician. Couple it with a medical alert notification if your loved one suffers from additional illnesses that she or he might not be able to communicate in an emergency.
  
• Consider the changes to the home that need to be made now and in the future to accommodate the patient's future needs. Although this might not be something that you want to perhaps tackle right now, knowing that it needs to be addressed at some point in the future can be of great help to someone who needs to budget carefully time and finances.