When someone you love is experiencing dementia, your heart breaks and mind moves in a million directions. You want to ensure you’re helping them to the best of your ability and find the right resources. With a little research, you can find a variety of ways to provide dementia care in Temecula to your loved one, and just as many ways to pay for it.
Home Care
For many people, home care is the first option. They want their loved one to live in a warm, nurturing and familiar environment, with family and friends all around. The idea of caring for your parent as they cared for you all your life can be appealing and rewarding. Before doing this, make sure you know what you’re signing up for. Moving mom or dad to your home only to move them again to a dementia care facility in Temecula can be difficult and disruptive to someone who is already disoriented.
First, be sure you are not doing all the caretaking yourself. Home care works best if you can either hire a home care aid or share the responsibility with a group of family members. As their dementia worsens, they’ll need 24/7 care. You may not want to think of it as a burden, but it’s more than one person can typically handle while maintaining their own health and happiness. It may also mean missing work, your kids’ little league games or recitals, nights out with your pals and more.
Assisted Living vs. Nursing Home
Sometimes it can be a tough mental hurdle to move your loved one to a nursing home or assisted living facility. If you are on the hunt for dementia care in Temecula, you have options that may surprise you. Instead of the old-school nursing homes of years past, modern nursing homes and assisted living communities are much homier. The staff works hard to create a warm, friendly and stable environment for your parent. They learn residents’ names, interests and medical needs. The staff creates specific activities that account for the residents mental and emotional state. These activities keep their brains as sharp as possible and ward off progression of their dementia.
What’s the different between assisted living and a nursing home? Dementia care in an assisted living facility is focused on assisting your loved one with the tasks of daily living, like bathing, dressing and eating. They can help care for more moderate medical needs as well, but if their dementia is advanced and they have any serious health concerns that require monitoring by a nurse 24 hours a day, a nursing home may be the best place for them. Check with assisted living facilities you are considering understanding what kind of care they are licensed to provide, and what criteria might indicate the need to move to a skilled nursing environment.
When mom or dad live in a community, you’re able to visit them often but the burden of daily care is lifted. Instead of spending your time together tending to daily tasks, you can spend it on more pleasant pursuits.
Weighing the Costs
Once you have figured out the other logistics and your parent’s best options, you need to consider costs. Home care is likely cheaper than moving them to a nursing home or assisted living facility, but make sure you’re not comparing apples to oranges. For example, will you need to modify your home for mom’s or dad’s needs? Factor in the costs of building ramps, grab bars and constructing shower stalls. Also, factor in the cost if there may be any lost income due to caregiving and growing your household by one person.
Paying for your loved one to live in a community can certainly be costly. Remember the cost often includes all caretaking, meals, some transportation (to activities and/or appointments depending on the community), specialized activities and more.
If your parent has a retirement fund or pension, that money can be used to finance their move and care. If they served in the military at any point, they may be eligible for additional veterans’ benefits. It’s also possible that your parent has planned for this by purchasing a long-term insurance policy, which works like any other type of insurance. They paid the premiums throughout the years and can take advantage of the policy’s benefits.
Another option is to take out a bridge loan (which is only a short-term solution.) It can provide money for a move while you sell your parent’s home or wait for their benefits to become available. Once the home is sold, you’ll have the funds to repay the loan and pay for some of your parent’s care going forward.
If you’re looking for dementia care in Temecula, know that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. There are many options, and a little research can help you find the right one for you and your family.