2Sisters Speak: Surviving the Sandwich Generation- Episode 23

How to Keep a Loved One at Home

Have you promised your loved one you will never put them in a nursing home? People make promises like this all the time, that they have every intention to keep but may not be able to deliver upon. Keeping a loved one at home with in-home care is much more possible when you have a plan in place for if/when it may not work.

Aging in place at home requires some strategy and a plan for if it fails. You can promise you will do your best to keep your loved one at home as long as possible or you can ensure they are as comfortable as possible, but it’s a bad idea to make specific promises. Join sandwiched adult daughters, Michelle Woodbrey and Alyson Powers, along with Nursing Home Specialist, Emily Rogue, and Senior Care Consultant Kristine Callahan, on this episode where they discuss what to consider if you want to keep a loved one at home successfully.

Three key takeaways from this episode:

• First, don’t make promises you can’t keep. If you have done your research and know that the financial resources are there to support in home care around the clock, and the home itself can support aging in place, then you can state with more certainty that the chances are very good they will be able to stay at home. Still any number of unforeseen things can occur which might make home not able to work.
  
• Next, create your village. The job of keeping a loved one safe at home with home care can seem a bit like being the conductor of an orchestra. You need to make sure everything is happening at the time that it should and everyone is playing their part. Having dependable people and good systems in place makes a significant difference.
  
• Third, just retain the knowledge that staying at home can be complex. Helping a loved one age in place at home usually requires as much planning as coordinating a transition into a care setting does. Many people assume that just because they never want to leave their home means that they will be able to manage to stay there – somehow. Planning for the contingencies, however, is the best way to ensure success.

Here is a link to the National Council on Aging to find resources in your area: https://www.ncoa.org/

Here is a link to find an Elder Law Attorney in your area: https://www.naela.org/