It can be a huge relief for caregivers to move their loved one into dementia care, and it’s also important to manage expectations. For better or worse, moving someone into dementia care doesn’t mean you stop being that person‘s caregiver.
The move will be a huge help for you, as you won’t have to manage every single aspect of your loved one’s care 24/7. Your loved one will get quality care there, they’ll be much safer, and they’ll be engaged in activities that are appropriate for them and able to socialize with people who are on a similar cognitive level and have similar cognitive needs to them.
There will, however, be things that the care staff needs from you, things they will need to communicate with you about on a regular (maybe even daily) basis. You will still be involved in supplying your loved one with certain necessities, like clothes and their preferred toiletries.
You will still be alerted when there is an issue with their care, like if there is an issue with their laundry, or if your loved one is exhibiting “behaviors” that make it challenging to provide them with care. If the staff believes they need to be evaluated by a psychiatrist to have their medications changed, they will need your approval.
In short, you are still the caregiver even when your loved one moves into a community. You are still the one in charge of their major life (and end-of-life) decisions, and though this is a stressful role to be sure, hopefully your loved one’s care team gives you the support you need to provide your loved one with the best quality care possible.
