Effective Ways to Monitor Your Loved One in a Facility

Moving your loved one into a long term care facility, such as an assisted living facility or nursing home, is a big transition for them and you. While the amenities, services, and support your loved one will receive can provide peace of mind you might not have felt in years, there is still some uncertainty that can accompany the transition. Fortunately, there are many ways to stay connected to your loved one, including keeping up-to-date on their care, routines, and habits.

Communicating with the Caregiving Team

Your first step in monitoring your loved one's progress is communicating with the facility's team. They work side by side with your loved one, getting to know them more each day and providing them with the personalized support they need. Here's what you need to know to monitor your loved one's progress: Communicate with your loved one, get to know them, and provide them with personalized support.

Do: Know the key players

While everyone who works in an assisted living facility or nursing home plays an important role in the daily life of your loved one, not everyone who works there will have a thorough knowledge of your loved one's progress and goals.

When communicating with the staff about your loved one's care and progress, focus on the caregivers with your loved one daily. Caregivers, including Certified Nursing Assistants in a skilled care setting and trained caregivers in an assisted living setting, will know the details of your loved one's day. They can tell you how much your loved one ate for dinner, if their cough has improved, or if they need you to bring in some new clothing for the season.

The nurse for your loved one's hallway or area is also an excellent person to communicate with. This employee will not only know your loved one's care plan, but will also have easy access to their medical chart so that they can give more in-depth information. For example, the nurse can confirm what medication the doctor prescribed and how long it is prescribed for.

Finally, the leaders in the facility can help you with concerns or more significant questions. A social worker, for example, can help you learn more about applying for Medicaid. The dining director can give you more information about your loved one's prescribed diet. A nurse manager can talk to you more about concerns you may have about your loved one's health or care. Finally, the facility's administrator can provide you with additional follow-up if you aren't getting the answers you need from other team members.

Don't: Assume you have access to all information

In most states, seniors who live in a long term care facility have the right to privacy. This means that residents can choose which family members they want to receive information about their health and care. If a resident no longer can make decisions, information is routed through their health care power of attorney.

How to Communicate with Team Members

Here are a few more dos and don'ts to help you communicate well with the team in your loved one's assisted living facility or nursing home.

Do: Give the correct contact information

When your loved one first moves into a long term care facility, you will want to ensure they have contact information for family members. Typically, family members will provide their:

• phone numbers, including home, cell, and work
• email address
• mailing address

If you move or change addresses or numbers, it is up to you to give the new information to the facility so that their records are updated.

Don't: Interrupt care to have a conversation

Caring for residents is a big task. To get the most out of your conversation, resist interrupting care (whether it's care of your loved one or another resident) to chat with a caregiver or nurse. Wait until they have completed their tasks before initiating your conversation. This counts for phone calls, too.

Do: Note positive aspects as well as concerns

If you're concerned about your loved one's care, it can be easy to launch right into those complaints when chatting with a caregiver, nurse, or facility leader. While you certainly want to address your concerns, you can reduce defensiveness and enhance your communication by also noting positive things you've noticed. Here's an example: "I love that mom has gotten more involved in book club these past few weeks! But I am concerned that she can't find her glasses every time I see her. Can we work together to come up with a plan so that she can keep track of them?"

Don't: Skip care plan meetings

A care plan meeting is a time when staff and leaders gather with family members and a resident to discuss how things are going. This interdisciplinary meeting is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about your loved one's care, personalized interventions, and wellness goals. Everyone around the table has a chance to learn and offer their opinions on the plan moving forward. Be sure to attend either in person or virtually.

Do: Assume the best intentions

Chances are that the caregivers, nurses, and leadership staff at your loved one's assisted living facility or nursing home got into the field because they love serving others. In most cases, they want to do a good job and give their best to your loved one. Keep this in mind, especially if you have concerns. Assume the team wants to do their best.

Using Technology as a Tool

Finally, you can monitor how your loved one is by harnessing technology. Here are a few ideas to get you started as you think about what might work for you and your loved one:

• Swap traditional phone calls for video chats if possible. There's something about being able to see your loved one instead of just hearing them that can put you at ease or alert you of a potential concern.
• Long term care facilities usually have an event calendar full of activities for residents. Each month, go through it with your loved one and have them select a few they'd like to attend. Set alarms on their smartphone or use a virtual assistant like Amazon Alexa or Google Home to remind them of the events they want to try.
• If your loved one is a texter, text them throughout the day to see how they are feeling and ask specifics like what they had for lunch or if they are still coughing.
• Nowadays, assisted living facilities and nursing homes are active online through social media, email newsletters, and even patient portals. You can check in on these tools to see what's happening so that you can ask specific questions during your next call.

While technology can record what happens in your loved one's apartment, be careful before employing this tactic. Some facilities have policies against video recording, especially if other residents are often in your loved one's room, as they have not given consent to be watched or recorded.

Communication is the Key

Remember, monitoring your loved one's care and health begins with good communication with their caregiving staff. Working as a team will ensure that they have the information they need to provide personalized support and that you have the answers you need when checking in.