How to Make Moving To a Care Home Easy

Despite knowing that you are making the best choice, moving a loved one into a care home is a difficult decision that ushers in a trying and emotionally straining period.

The truth is that no matter how nice a Care Home you are moving your loved one into, and no matter what anyone says, guilt is an inescapable, natural part of the process. This is partly because you will feel as if ‘society’ is perhaps judging you and branding you an ‘absconder’ of familial duty, and because you will be second guessing yourself at every instance, especially if you had made an unspoken promise never to move your loved into a nursing home.

Grief shall also be an adjacent part of the process simply because moving your loved one is a great loss, one that is likely to change your living patterns as well as the lives of your family and the loved one in question, especially if you were the primary caregiver.

Here is the truth:

Taking care of an elderly, sick parent or loved one is a Herculean task that can spread you thin especially if in addition to caring for your loved one, you also have other demanding responsibilities such as a full time job or children that need your care just as much.

Whichever circumstances that have necessitated your desire to seek professional caregiver help, moving your loved one into the right Care Home, such as ones run by Westgate Healthcare, is a good decision and the best choice because it will ensure that your loved one gets the proper attention and care he or she needs.

As such, and with the above stated, you can adopt various coping strategies that can lessen the emotional strains of the process and water down some of the guilt and the attendant grief for you and all involved.

Strategies to Help You Deal With the Emotional Strain of Moving a Loved One Into a Care Home

To make the process of moving a loved one into a care home a bit easier, you should:

#: Talk it out

If your loved one is of sound mind, the best way to make the process easier is to engage them in an open and honest conversation relating to their care needs and what is best for all. Talking it out will help ensure that you make the decision together as a family and that you involve your loved one in the process of choosing a care home ideally suited to providing them the care they need in order to have a better quality of life. This alone is enough to make the process easier and alleviate a large portion of the attendant guilt and grief.

#: Recall the benefits

In most instances, the decision to move a loved one into a nursing home is out of a desire to ensure that your aged parents or loved ones get the 24-hour care and supervision they need. Remembering the benefits attached to this decision will make it easier to cope with the situation. For instance, a care home will always have a caregiver at hand, which means your loved one shall always have someone to attend to his or her needs (including special needs). Recalling the benefits, and communicating them to all involved (including the loved one moving to the care facility) will make the transition a lot easier.

#: Choose the right care home

Choosing the right care home for your loved one (especially when the loved one lacks the mental capacity to play an active role in the process) is the most difficult part of the process. To make the process easier, foster an environment of involvement. In addition, seek counsel from associations such as the Elderly Accommodation Counsel, Social Services, Age UK, and The Residents and Relatives Association. Most of these associations have a database of care providers and facilities, and will only be too eager to help you choose a care facility that can provide your loved one with the care he or she needs.

Choosing the right care home will largely depend on the kind of care your loved one needs. Go out of your way to visit the Care Homes you are considering, and make sure you talk to the staff so that you can get a feel for the place and therefore be able to determine if it is the right care facility for your loved one. Knowing that your loved one will be receiving the care he or she needs will make the process easier.

#: Prepare

Involving everyone concerned in the decision, in the process of choosing the right care home, and during the move is part of the preparation process that will make dealing with this emotionally trying time a whole lot easier. In addition to this, prepare in advance for the day of the move by ensuring that your loved one has all that they need to make their stay homely.

As an example, plan your visits well ahead of time, prepare everything your loved one shall take to the care facility—including pictures of the family and other mementos—and really discuss the moving process beforehand. This will make the move easier for your loved one, all involved, as well as for yourself.

Above all else, remember that guilt and grief are natural parts of the process. However, also remember that as Marilyn A. Mendoza Ph.D. notes, “there really is nothing to feel guilty about.” After all, you have made the choice to move your loved one into a care home not out of malice, selfishness, or the desire to abscond duty, but because you care for your loved one, and because you want to ensure that he or she gets adequate care.