When It’s Time to Consider Long-Term Care for Your Parent
Making the decision to consider long-term care for your parent can be a difficult one to make. However, if you’ve been the primary or only caregiver for your loved one, it’s important to recognize when they might be better served by a skilled nursing facility equipped to handle all their needs.
Overcoming Feelings of Guilt and Nursing Home Stigma
When you are looking after the care, health, and wellbeing of a parent, it can feel incredibly overwhelming to come to the realization that you are no longer in a position to continue doing so. Oftentimes, caregiving children are overcome with feelings of guilt and letting their parents down. This results in a continuation of care that could bring about other health concerns for your loved one. It can also create resentment towards your parent later in life due to the taxing burden that caregiving can become.
It’s important and necessary to set your personal feelings aside and look at the care of your parent from a perspective entirely focused on what would be best for them.
In addition, nursing homes haven’t always had warm and fuzzy feelings associated with them. However, by touring different locations, you can quickly get a good feel for how that stigma is just that, and you’ll find that many skilled nursing facilities have really become quite the oasis for residents seeking both long and short-term care.
Signs It’s Time to Consider Long-Term Care for Your Parent
If you’ve been feeling like it might be time to consider long-term care for your parent, there are a few questions you can ask yourself to assist with the decision-making process.
Are you finding it increasingly difficult to handle the physical care your parent needs?
This might sound like a simple question, but it’s important. If physically helping your loved one is difficult for you, you’re only putting them more at risk. Skilled nursing facilities have trained professionals on-site that are easily able to handle the physical demands of caregiving. To avoid risking a fall or injury to your loved one, take a serious look at what physical demands you are capable of meeting in a way that won’t put your health at risk.
Are you finding yourself suffering from chronic exhaustion or feeling emotionally drained?
The answer to this question has a great impact on your overall health, both mentally and physically. And if you’ve been struggling with exhaustion or mental fatigue, that can be negatively affecting your parent as you care for them, including bringing on feelings of parental guilt, and the inability to provide the quality of care they need.
Does your parent need rehabilitation or specialized supervision?
If your loved one requires rehabilitation, oftentimes it can require around-the-clock care, and you may not realistically be able to provide it. If they aren’t receiving the amount of care they need to fully recover, it can hinder their ability to heal as well as create a much longer timeline for rehab. On the same token, if your loved one suffers from Alzheimer’s or dementia, they could greatly benefit from a long-term care facility that offers a certified Memory Care Unit.
