BY DAVE WEIMAN

A “care plan” is essential regardless of whether the care setting is a skilled nursing home, assisted living facility or home care. The care plan is a document that should include the needed services, the health care professional to provide those services, how often they’re needed, if special equipment/supplies are required, and, most importantly, the health goal and how the care plan will help reach that goal.

The initial care plan should be developed within a few days after care services begin. It should be reviewed and updated every three months or more frequently if care requirements change dramatically. The care recipient and the care provider(s) will be the primary participants, but members of the recipient’s family and/or support group may also join in the development and updating process.

In the past, care plans have focused on doing what is “in the best interest of the person” as defined by the care provider(s) rather than by the care recipient. That approach was based on a medical model that assumed the patient was a passive recipient of care provided by professionals. But today, a care plan should place value on a cognitively capable individual’s right to make decisions concerning every aspect of her or his life.

The care plan should reflect the care providers’ efforts to honor residents’ choices that influence both quality of care and quality of life, while recognizing potential risks associated with those choices. It should document the result of a discussion that weighs the potential outcomes (positive and negative) of respecting and aiding the care recipient in the pursuit of her or his choices. Care plans should recognize that the responsibility to respect rights for self-determination is equal to the responsibility for safety concerns. Safety has generally been more highly valued than the positive psychological and emotional outcomes that may result from behaviors or activities that may have some level of risk attached. That’s because risk management has been all about keeping people safe, which is important, but the potential loss of quality of life is equally important.

Go to www.carecompasspeoria.org

for more suggestions and guidance for finding quality elder care.

Dave Weiman is the founder of Care Compass, a free online site to assist elders and their families find Elder Care in the Peoria area.  Dave has been engaged for over 10 years in improving the quality of care, so elders can enjoy a life of quality.