There is Nothing Wrong with Going with the Flow- Unless It’s a Tsunami
Do you or your kids joke about putting you in a home someday? It’s all fun and games until it happens. This month’s blog is for any of you Baby Boomers out there who want to control your destiny until your last breath! It most certainly can also apply to those of you out there who have parents you are planning to care for someday soon. The entire point of the blog is to keep the joke from turning into a nightmare for you and your family. We hope it makes you think, and if necessary, take some action.
Every crisis has lots of unintentional lessons. One that has been crystalized for us during COVID is how important it is to know what options people have when they are no longer able to live independently due to a health issue. These are not decisions you want to make once a situation becomes a crisis for many reasons. For the last few years, we have encouraged all of our clients with parents over 75 and all of our clients over 75 (or younger if they have health issues) to plan for an emergency when they can’t live independently any more. COVID has made it clear that this is critical planning to help preserve quality of life and family sanity. Here are some considerations:
For someone wishing to stay in their home:
- What are the services that can be provided at home, and what are services that cannot be?
- What companies provide these services? Research these companies in advance to have an idea of reputation.
- How will these services be paid for? Don’t rely on Medicare- it only pays for a short period. In home care can be expensive, so you will want to know if this is economically feasible.
- What if financial resources run out or health deteriorates so badly facility care is required. What facilities might work in this situation?
- How will the plan alter if the person is currently married, but becomes single?
For someone wishing to move:
- Will they be staying in town or moving to be closer to a trusted person?
- What facilities make sense and will provide continued care? Research these in advance to have at least an idea of reputation, and also what their restrictions on entry are. Many are highly selective based on health status and financial status.
- How will this be paid for? Again, Medicare will most likely not help with this cost. Economic feasibility is important.
- How will the plan alter if the person is currently married, but becomes single?
The key to this type of planning is to identify and check out the service providers you would choose to help you in your desired situation, create a funding plan, and communicate that plan with those that care and need to know. The more likely this risk is coming, the more thorough your research should be. Ideally, you’d start early and build on it for years before actually having the need.
It’s much more fun to plan vacations, home remodels, or even what is for dinner than making a plan for long term care needs. But here’s what we can tell you from experience, the rewards from a thought-out plan can quite literally change the quality of your life when you may need it most.
And we promise, next month’s blog will be a little more fun.