Facility placement can be one of the most difficult decisions that families need to make. Emotions that may arise for family members include:
- Guilt (which can be especially traumatic for spouses)
- Grief (which may often be based on the fear of the unknown)
- Anger (i.e., loss of control)
- Anxiety (letting go of the day to day responsibilities of caregiving and giving them over to others)
While the caregiving role shifts upon facility placement, caregiving does not end. Family members likely will be called upon to provide emotional support, as before or even more than before, and to become advocates for the care receiver. What does being an advocate entail? You will likely have your own ideas based on your experiences to date, but here is a beginning list:
- Getting to know facility staff and the Director of Care
- Developing good relationships with staff
- Reinforcing the positives with staff and celebrating what’s good
- Thinking about ways to resolve conflicts with staff
- Finding out whether there is a Family Council
- Finding out how complaints are addressed and resolved
- Finding out whether there is a family caregivers’ support group within the facility
- Find out the policy regarding moving to hospital for treatment and back again.
Adapted from: Family Caregivers' Network Society, Resource Guide for Family Caregivers, 2006.