Watching an older loved one reach a point at which he or she can no longer handle daily needs can be difficult. You may have considered a variety of options for doing what is best but ultimately decided that having your loved one cared for in a professional nursing facility in Illinois would be best for everyone involved.
You may have felt some guilt over this decision because you wish you could care for your loved one yourself. However, you have work, family and other obligations that did not make taking on a caretaker role feasible. Still, you wanted to put your best foot forward and find the right facility for your loved one.
What to consider
Because you want your loved one to feel at home and receive the care he or she needs, it is important to take the time to choose the right facility. Some steps you may want to take on that decision-making journey include the following:
- Talking with friends and family: Other family members may have input on where they would like your loved one to stay, and friends may be able to offer advice if they have placed a loved one in a nursing home themselves.
- Consider your needs and your loved one’s needs: You may have religious preferences to consider when choosing a home, or your loved one may need a specific type of care that the facility will need to provide.
- Contact multiple facilities: It is important to understand your available options and gain direct information about certain details about the facility, such as the number of residents and waitlists.
- Go to the facilities: Though phone calls can help you gain information, in-person visits and meetings with directors and staff members can help you get a feel for the facilities and allow you to see how the residents truly live. You may even want to make a second, unplanned visit to ensure that what you saw the first time was what really takes place on a daily basis.
Having a loved one in a nursing home can bring about mixed emotions. You may hate to remove him or her from home, but you know that professionals can provide the needed care. Of course, if you begin to have concerns about the manner in which the staff has treated your loved one, possibly even suspecting abuse, you may want to remember that you have legal options for addressing such wrongdoing.
