In this weeks edition of Morning Quarter-Buck, financial planner Becky Eason discusses a topic that is near and dear to her heart, as well as many of us who are faced with the decision of balancing the safety of our loved ones, with their emotional desire to stay at home.
By: Becky Eason
We all love our friends and family and want to make them as happy as possible. If you were to ask your friends and family what one of their hopes/wishes in life would be, it’s safe to assume that they would respond with being able to remain at home or at least out of a nursing home for as long as possible.
Being able to fulfill the goal of keeping loved ones out of the nursing home for as long as possible can be challenging. I know exactly how challenging this can be, as I’ve been witnessing it firsthand with the efforts my parents have been going through with my grandparents. If you aren’t able to provide the care that is needed due to time or resource constraints, there are many programs available to help assist you. In Steuben County, New York for instance, there is a wonderful program available, Forward-Thinking Home Solutions. You may recognize this name from one of Amy’s Wine and Dime Podcasts where Amy interviewed the founder of Forward-Thinking, Sue Gruber. Sue will go into someone's home and make recommendations on what changes should be made to help keep your loved one living safely at home. She will also provide you with available resources and grants that you can apply for to help fund the necessary changes. If you don’t live in Steuben County don’t feel left out. There are programs all over the country that are there to support you. One such program that is available nationwide, is Meals on Wheels, which provides meals to individuals who are unable to prepare their own meals.
Maybe you aren’t able to keep your loved one at home but they aren’t yet ready for a nursing home. Your loved one might be able to go into an assisted living home. These homes provide a more independent lifestyle than a nursing home, but there are still staff members around at all times to help. Services that are provided at assisted living homes include meals, medication monitoring, personal care assistance, social activities, and housekeeping/laundry.
Unfortunately, there will likely come a point when you must make the difficult decision to put your loved one in a nursing home. When you get to the point of having to make this decision it will very likely be emotional and you will question whether you made the right decision. If you are faced with this emotion, know that you aren’t alone and remind yourself that you did it for the safety of your loved one and those around you.