How to Determine if a Senior Is Ready to Move to a Nursing Home

A senior's ability to live safely in her home, and her need for 24-hour skilled nursing care, is a key consideration when deciding if she is ready to move to a skilled nursing facility - in other words, a nursing home.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Discuss moving into a skilled nursing facility (SNF) if a senior needs 24-hour nursing care and is no longer safe in her home. Safety issues include leaving the burners on, not closing doors or the inability to navigate dangerous stairwells.

2. Is the senior aware of her surroundings? If not, this may be a sign of memory impairment (Alzheimer's disease or dementia), and she may need 24-hour care.

3. Can the senior still transfer in and out of bed and take baths and showers alone? Is she able to dress by herself? Is she continent?

4. Look at a senior's daily activities. Is she able to cook three meals a day, clean her home and do the laundry? Or does she require full assistance in these areas?

5. Think about hiring a geriatric care manager to do an assessment of a senior family member to help you determine if the senior is ready to move to a nursing home.

Tips & Warnings

• Look for assitance from companies like seniore care review for an elder assesment program see related sites.

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