Many questions arise when you or your loved ones begin to age and need more care than before. One big one is should we facilitate formal care or informal care? Informal care can be thought of as care that is not being provided by a paid caregiver, or nonprofit organization. This type of care is often provided by a spouse or family member while they try to juggle a full-time job, a family, and other activities. Formal care is anytime care is given by a paid caregiver or facility such as a nursing home or assisted living home.

The positives of informal care is the care is often provided free or at a low cost, and the care is given by a loved one so the patient feels more comfortable. However, with the busy schedules people have today, and added responsibilities, full time informal care is often not possible. What will often happen is a part-time formal caregiver must be hired to pick up the slack. But as the patient starts to need more care, a formal option is needed.

When informal care no longer is possible, a transition to formal care must take place. This can be assisted living, a nursing home, or retirement community.

We have two tips for making this transition as smooth as possible:

1. It is no secret that care facilities can be quite expensive. Whether care is provided in an assisted living facility, adult family home, or nursing home, financial plans need to be made a head of time to ensure the patient will receive the care required and the family will continue to be supported. There have been experiences where because the cost of care was so high, the spouse of the patient ended up in a situation where they needed food stamps and subsidized housing to get by. So our recommendation is to start planning early. Get a financial adviser to look at the numbers with you. Draw out a 10-20 year plan so there are no surprises along the way.

2. Transitioning to a new environment can be a shock for many patients. It is important to provide them with confidence early on that they are getting the best care possible. For this, it is important that other members of the family are present and providing support. Ensure that the belongs of the patient are moved to their new room, so the patient feels right at home. A few jokes and laughs along the way don’t help either.

Fellow these two tips, and your transition from informal to formal care will be a lot smoother.

Cherry Hill Adult Family Home