Helping Your Family Member Adjust to Nursing Home Living-Tip #20

Care plans, created for the residents living in a nursing home and utilize the nursing process, will be further explained. The overall purpose of the nursing process is to guide the staff in the appropriate care and treatment and to ensure that the optimal outcome is achieved.  If your loved one develops a significant change in their condition (improvement or a decline), a fall and/or an injury, it will be necessary to revise the original care plan or formulate a new one, addressing current problems to meet their needs.  It will also be the responsibility of the facility to notify the family or guardian if such an event occurred.   Communication with your loved one and the staff is also a “two way street!”  Family members should be available and encourage open communication with staff from the nursing home.  If the contact person is unavailable for any length of time, provide the facility with the name and number of a responsible person who could temporarily step in.  Communication is the key to help prevent, identify and solve potential problems that may develop and promote a positive adjustment to the nursing home.  More to follow on the nursing process and care planning.