If your loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, one of your main priorities should be getting support systems in place so that your loved one can stay healthy and safe for as long as possible. Home care services can provide much-needed consistency and expertise as your loved one lives with cognitive decline. Here’s what you can expect from exceptional Alzheimer’s home care services and how to find an agency that suits your unique needs.
An Emphasis on Staff Training
Exceptional Alzheimer’s home care services come from agencies that are dedicated to training and empowering their caregiver team. Since cognitive decline comes with specific challenges, it is important that you look for an agency that offers specialized Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care training to caregivers. The latest best practices for dementia care rapidly change, and ongoing education can ensure that caregivers know about the disease progression as well as positive interventions to keep clients safe and healthy.
Ask your agency: What training do caregivers receive? Are caregivers taught about dementia interventions throughout the year?
Flexible, Personalized Care Plans
A hallmark of exceptional Alzheimer’s home care is the focus on personalized care. Team members adjust the daily routine, schedule, and activities based on the person’s preferences, history, and interests. This means that dementia home care for one client will not be the same as care for another client. Everyone is unique, and the approaches and care reflect that.
The foundation of personalized care is a care plan. This is a document that is essentially a road map to providing individualized care for the client. This document is prepared by a clinician with dementia care experience and is flexible, changing as the needs and preferences of the client change.
Ask your agency: Do you create personalized care plans for every client with dementia? Who prepares those and are they flexible to change?
Clear and Consistent Family Communication
Dementia and Alzheimer’s home care is a team effort. Exceptional agencies realize that everyone who interacts with the client has an important role to play in the client’s life, health, and safety, including family members. Agencies should involve family members in multiple ways, including during the assessment process. Family members often hold crucial information about history, preferences, and interests that can end up becoming a vital part of the care plan. As care begins, the agency should keep family members in the loop about how care is going and if there were any concerns.
Ask your agency: How do you communicate with family members? Are family members invited to be a part of the care planning process?
Finding Alzheimer’s Home Care
Caring for someone living with cognitive decline in their home is not the same as caring for someone without cognitive challenges. Dementia and Alzheimer’s home care requires more flexibility and finesse in order to create meaningful relationships and personalized routines. It can be difficult to find an agency that takes dementia care seriously.
In order to find a home care agency that suits your needs, look for:
- Regular, ongoing education about dementia best practices for caregivers and team members
- Personalized care plan development
- Consistent family communication
- Caregivers who receive background checks upon hire and then continuously throughout their tenure with the agency
- Nurses and clinical leaders with dementia care expertise
- Family education and support
At Total Care Connections, we take dementia care seriously. Our caregivers are trained on best practices and we ensure our clinicians create realistic and personalized care plans for every client we serve. Contact us today for your Alzheimer’s home care needs; we would love to hear more about your loved one and join you as a part of their care team.
