Alzheimer's care has historically been our major focus.
An assisted living facility may not be every family's wished for solution for a loved one with Alzheimer's, but caring for a family member at home (theirs or yours) can be taxing and exhausting for even the most patient, loving family. At the onset of Alzheimer's, your loved one may remain capable of performing daily tasks that allow him or her to live and function independently or semi independently. However, these abilities diminish as the disease progresses. And that's when you may consider turning to a professional care team as at The Mann House.
If you're the caregiver, here are a few suggestions that will help you cope, prior to or while considering a move to The Mann House for your family member. Click each topic to see more.
Care For Yourself First As the disease progresses, new and more strenuous demands are placed on you as you work to deal with changes in your loved one's abilities and behaviors. Ensuring that you are caring for yourself first will help you be better prepared to take care of your family member.
Schedule Appropriately Daily routines help eliminate confusion and help provide a degree of predictability for all. If your loved one is best able to participate in difficult tasks (showering/dressing for example) at certain times of the day, consider scheduling such things at those times.
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If you live in the Atlanta area and you are considering an assisted living facility for a family member with Alzheimer's or dimentia or acute, difficult or chronic health care problems, give us a call. We'll be happy to provide you with more information on our facility.
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Let Your Loved One HelpLet your loved one participate in tasks as much as possible. You may find that your husband, for example, can handle shaving by himself if you turn on his electric razor and hand it to him or perhaps, you may find that your wife is able to get dressed by herself if you lay out her clothes on the bed in the order in which she should put them on.
Be Comfortable With A Slower Pace TTasks will take longer than they used to take, so be prepared and schedule appropriately. That way, it won't be necessary to hurry your loved one which can create back lash , anger, and frustration.
Expect That Your Loved One Will Completely Lose Their MemoryIt is common that Alzheimer's sufferers are usually unaware of their memory loss and it may be annoying to have to repeat yourself time after time or deal with repetitive behaviors and questions. If you can, think of the good side of every situation and understand your loved one won't be as upset as you as they probably won't realize the changes that are happening to them, or how you are personally impacted.
When You've Done All You Can for Them at Home, Turn to The Mann House.
Eliminate Options Limiting choices helps to makes decisions easier. Many skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities, for example, plan for residents/patients to select from a couple of different outfits to wear rather than a full closet, which helps the patient be successful in deciding what to wear. At The Mann House, residents have the option to dine in their room with our famous "Silver Tray Dining" service. If they prefer to come to the dining room, (which we encourage) we'll help residents dress for the occasion, and maintain their self esteem around others in social occasions.
Remember The Worth Of The Person As A Human BeingEven if your loved one doesn't appear to respond, they still need love, care, touching, and being spoken to. Alzheimer's and dementia patients, like all of us, enjoy human contact and understanding and supportive care is essential to their well being. Knowing these realities led to our instituting our unique "THE MANN PROGRAM" for Alzheimer's/dementia/memory care which is thoroughly customized and personalized for each of our residents on a continuous basis.
Engaging Your Loved One In ActivitiesMaintaining an active body and mind is important in Alzheimer's care. In early-stage Alzheimer's, engaging in a variety of activities, including mental and physical exercise can (experts attest) help to slow the disease's progression and new experiences may stimulate brain health. A key to success at The Mann House is in providing a variety of stimuli that reduces boredom, and isolation and maintains a relaxing environment that doesn't over-stimulate the resident and strikes just the right balance of activity while keeping frustration, disappointment or, possible anger in check.
Get Emotional Support For Yourself Almost everything about your loved one's Alzheimer's is going to be hard on you, too. You are likely to feel grief and loss about their declining condition, as the person you've known and loved for years worsens and loses their grip on reality and recognition. Remember there is plenty of support for you and your other family members—you just need to reach out for it. At The Mann House, we have devoted our lives to the welfare of you and your loved one.
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