"The three most critical people skills are listening, listening, and listening. Then there are others. But we should learn the first three first." --Dan King Sr
Dear Senior and Family:
Senior living is full of change and adjustment. Change for seniors can be challenging. The time comes when seniors need help with change.
A senior, family, and qualified senior living advisor can work together to help change go well. Such teamwork can help to avoid unnecessary stress and disruption. Part of the challenge is to make good choices
You are why we are here! Let us help with the changes, challenges, and choices of senior living.
Please consider SENIOR PLAN as your qualified professional resource to join your senior and family in helping with change.
Thank you.
Connecting with seniors and their families,
Dan King Sr
Senior Living Advisor
478 272 9355
Office appointments . Home & hospital visits . Phone . Email
SENIOR PLAN offers life-enhancing assessment and planning for seniors and their families. The following examples are not reports of real-life situations. The examples are true-to-life, however.
Example 1: Mom is 77 and lives at home alone. A son and a daughter live out of state. A second daughter lives nearby. Dim vision causes Mom to be at risk with her medications. The nearby daughter is willing to help with meds, but she and Mom have unresolved "issues," and Mom does not want to be dependent upon this daughter. After a contact from the out-of-state daughter, the SENIOR PLAN advisor meets with Mom and the nearby daughter. Both acknowledge they want to work toward resolving their problems. Mom agrees for the daughter to assist with Mom's medications. Mom remains in her own home with daughter's help. The SENIOR PLAN advisor will have a series of visits with the mother and daughter to work toward reconciliation and to monitor progress with the plan for Mom's medications.
Example 2: Dad is facing discharge from the hospital following hip surgery. He demands to return home though unable to continue self-care until significant recovery. His future level of functioning cannot be determined until response to a few weeks of rehab is evaluated. Dad does not trust the doctor and nurses whom he believes just want him out of the hospital. He does not trust his family whom he believes wants him in a nursing home to give them relief. The SENIOR PLAN advisor meets separately with the family and with Dad. Then everyone meets together. Without any promises except that everyone will help Dad remain in the most independent setting in which he can function well, Dad accepts the uncertainty of rehab success and agrees to nursing home care for a prescribed period of rehabilitation. The SENIOR PLAN advisor encourages the family to think about limited in-home care to help Dad go home again following rehab if progress is favorable. The advisor reminds the family that Dad's plan to go home again will be an incentive for his efforts in the challenging and sometimes painful rehab program.
Example 3: Julie and her grandmother are very close. Julie checks in on her grandmother three to four times per week. Julie prepares meals and leaves them in the refrigerator for warm-up. Sometimes she brings in one of Grandmother's favorite sub sandwiches. During a recent visit, Julie noticed a bruise on Grandmother's cheek. Finally, Grandmother admitted she had fallen against a door. On a later visit, Julie observed new bruises. Grandmother said she was losing her balance more and more. Julie spoke with her parents and they brought Grandmother's other children up to date on the happenings in their mom's home. The family decided it was time to have "The Talk" with Grandmother. However, they expected stiff resistance and did not know just how to go about the task.
Julie's mom had attended a seminar conducted by SENIOR PLAN. She made a call, and an advisor met with Julie and her parents. The advisor and Julie planned a visit for the two of them with Grandmother. The advisor coached Julie as to their approach for "The Talk." As they visited with Grandmother, the advisor let Julie explain to her grandmother that she was concerned that an injury might force her grandmother into a nursing home. Julie said she wanted Grandmother to be as independent as possible for just as long as possible. The SENIOR PLAN advisor explained how an assisted living home might provide the limited assistance that Grandmother needed for now. Grandmother listened with great interest, asking if she could still "visit" her own home for overnight if Julie could be her "guest." Julie assured Grandmother she would be glad to stay over just as she had done many times before.
Within a week, the entire family met with the SENIOR PLAN advisor. The advisor let Grandmother tell the family of her plans to look for an assisted living home. The advisor passed out information on three nearby homes and offered to arrange tours to "check them out."
"By the way," Grandmother began. The family did not know what else might be on their dear loved one's mind. "I think we need another meeting soon. I knew the time would come when I would need to make some decisions about a living will and what I want you all to do with the home and my 'stuff' after I'm gone."
Julie nestled against her grandmother and assured her, "We'll talk soon, Gramma. I'll be glad to get everyone together again."
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