Why have a family care plan?
As humans, we are creatures of optimism, which means that many of us fail to anticipate any possible negative events in our lives. We Canadians know the issue of dementia is certainly in our nation’s future, yet many Canadians haven’t thought about or planned for the aging process—neither for themselves nor their loved ones. Families can use a family caretaking plan to help them look objectively at the situation they’re in.
It can help by:
teaching you about the disease
building a support system
easing financial burdens
anticipating and preparing for dementia related- difficulties
anticipating and preparing for dementia-related decline
reducing care-taker stress
reduce the likelihood of experiencing a dementia-related crisis
It also ensures that our loved ones will get the best care going forward, because it plans for the various scenarios someone with dementia might face (wandering, falling, communication difficulties, financial strain, new living arrangement, etc.), and has strategies and techniques to deal with them.