If your have a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease(AD involved in respite care services, it’s not only important to evaluate the quality of the facility when initially selecting it, it’s also vital to perform periodic checks to ensure the service continues to meet your expectations for quality of care.
One reason to keep up with periodic checks at the respite facility is that your loved one’s needs may change as time goes on. The facility may have changed its programming, staffing and/or policies and protocols-and you may find that it no longer meets your loved one’s needs.
Here are some questions to ask to evaluate your loved one’s current respite center to ensure the facility is meeting his/her needs:
What types of services offered/delivered work well?
Which areas could be improved upon, for example: more hands-on activities, a variety of additional heath care providers needed such as physical therapists, etc.
Which service does your loved one need that is not offered at your current respite care facility-such as nursing services, physical therapy and more.
Will the current respite care service make any changes to meet your specific needs?
If your current facility can’t meet your loved one’s needs, compile a list of possible candidates to interview for a new respite care center.
When interviewing a new facility be sure to evaluate;
•Safety protocols
•Professionalism of employees
•Ability of the facility to meet the “whole person” as an individual
•Special training of the staff (such as CPR or dementia care training)
•Supervision of Care Providers
•Whether the environment has a “home-like” feeling
•Whether any special needs of your loved one can be addressed
•How well the staff involves your loved one in the plan of care
Learn more about Alzheimer’s disease by signing up for our 25 lesson course for caregivers at AlzU.org today by CLICKING HERE.
