Are you sure you want to exit? Your progress will be lost.
Who are you caring for?
Which best describes their mobility?
How well are they maintaining their hygiene?
How are they managing their medications?
Does their living environment pose any safety concerns?
Fall risks, spoiled food, or other threats to wellbeing
Are they experiencing any memory loss?
Which best describes your loved one's social life?
Acknowledgment of Disclosures and Authorization
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
✔
I acknowledge and authorize
✔
I consent to the collection of my consumer health data.*
✔
I consent to the sharing of my consumer health data with qualified home care agencies.*
*If I am consenting on behalf of someone else, I have the proper authorization to do so. By clicking Get My Results, you agree to our Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
Remember, this assessment is not a substitute for professional advice.
Share a few details and we will match you to trusted home care in your area:
I keep seeing everybody write down that you can’t get a loved one who suffers from dementia to take their meds. This is not always true, you can, you just need to be persistent patient and come up with techniques. You can do this
Somebody with dementia doesn’t really understand why they’re taking the medication. Also, they might probably think you’re trying to poison them. Yes, this does happen. Sometimes they will put the pill in her mouth only to spit it out when you’re not looking. Other times they will say leave the meds there and I’ll take it in a little bit, then all of the sudden they end up taking the meds out of the plate or container you put it in just to put them down the sink flush them down the toilet or hid them only for you to find them not knowing they put them there.
It takes skill and patience for sure when taking care of a loved one suffering from dementia Lots of patience.
You’ll need to come back every few minutes to ask them if they took their meds other times they will get very upset with you for asking them to take the meds.
You could ask the pharmacist if the meds are crushable. Some meds or time released so you want to be careful with those.
If they’re crushable, then you can crush them and put them in applesauce, yogurt, or pudding or ice-cream. I would sit with them to make sure that they ate everything.
If your family member has Dementia someone needs to be with them 24/7. Dementia is unpredictable thats why I did not do well with it. I need order. If they can't afford to pay for aides or family live with them, then they need Assisted Living or Memory care. If they can't afford that, then its Longterm care with Medicaid helping to pay for care.
I recommend a book called Understanding the Dementia Experience by Jennifer Ghent-Fuller so you can learn about dementia and how to best care for your loved one.
You cannot get a dementia patient to take medicine if they don't want to because they don't understand what it is or what it's for. That's a fact. Many caregivers give up.
In a memory care or skilled nursing facility, it's the employees' job to make sure that the resident takes their meds on time. They are meticulous about it because dispensing meds is important to ensure the person's well-being and health. They might crush the meds and put them in yogurt, applesauce, a swirl of whipped cream or some other food that the patient likes. They have ways of distracting the patient - telling them a story or about a pleasant activity planned for the day. They call them by affectionate nicknames, praise them for swallowing the meds, anything to achieve the goal of taking their medicines.
So many people are like "I will NEVER put my loved one in a terrible, horrible, nasty HOME." Yet "one of those awful places" may be the best way to solve the problem of "How do I get them to take their meds? Nothing works!" The secret is professionally trained people who know the right techniques.
"Why can't I do that at home and get the same results?" Because the patient doesn't like you sometimes or maybe all the time. They associate you with bringing on their disease, discomfort, and decrepitude. You are seen as a bully, not a loving family caregiver. They want to get back at you. They will be stubborn with you because they've always been stubborn with you. They won't be pushed around.
Family care is not always the best. And that is the truth.
I'm guessing your loved one is memory impaired? My totally disabled husband is just lazy, falls asleep day and night, never remembers to take his pills I organize for him each day and put in small cups on his table. I have no choice but to monitor him constantly, wake him up if I have to. He takes over 25 pills a day.
We had the medication assembled in plastic strips (rolls) with date and times on each plastic section. These rolls (about 6" spool) are made at the pharmacy.
My Dad would tear the pills off for each meal and set it by Mom's place at the table for Mom.
Simple answer is...You can't. There will always be the problem/question Did she/he take it? and on time? Did he/she take more than should have been taken?
There are pill dispensers that will only dispense at a given time. But that does not ensure that the person will actually take the medication when it is dispensed. Some of the dispensers have an alarm when the med is dispensed but will a person with dementia know what that particular sound is for?
The only way to know for sure if a person is taking the medication is to actually see them take it. You can try making it easier on yourself by eliminating any meds that are not truly necessary.
By having someone there to literally put the medications in their hand and then watch them put them in their mouth and swallow them. You sadly can't expect someone with a broken brain to remember how to do anything anymore.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
It takes skill and patience for sure when taking care of a loved one suffering from dementia
Lots of patience.
You’ll need to come back every few minutes to ask them if they took their meds other times they will get very upset with you for asking them to take the meds.
You could ask the pharmacist if the meds are crushable.
Some meds or time released so you want to be careful with those.
If they’re crushable, then you can crush them and put them in applesauce, yogurt, or pudding or ice-cream. I would sit with them to make sure that they ate everything.
Best of luck to you.
In a memory care or skilled nursing facility, it's the employees' job to make sure that the resident takes their meds on time. They are meticulous about it because dispensing meds is important to ensure the person's well-being and health. They might crush the meds and put them in yogurt, applesauce, a swirl of whipped cream or some other food that the patient likes. They have ways of distracting the patient - telling them a story or about a pleasant activity planned for the day. They call them by affectionate nicknames, praise them for swallowing the meds, anything to achieve the goal of taking their medicines.
So many people are like "I will NEVER put my loved one in a terrible, horrible, nasty HOME." Yet "one of those awful places" may be the best way to solve the problem of "How do I get them to take their meds? Nothing works!" The secret is professionally trained people who know the right techniques.
"Why can't I do that at home and get the same results?" Because the patient doesn't like you sometimes or maybe all the time. They associate you with bringing on their disease, discomfort, and decrepitude. You are seen as a bully, not a loving family caregiver. They want to get back at you. They will be stubborn with you because they've always been stubborn with you. They won't be pushed around.
Family care is not always the best. And that is the truth.
My Dad would tear the pills off for each meal and set it by Mom's place at the table for Mom.
There will always be the problem/question
Did she/he take it? and on time?
Did he/she take more than should have been taken?
There are pill dispensers that will only dispense at a given time. But that does not ensure that the person will actually take the medication when it is dispensed. Some of the dispensers have an alarm when the med is dispensed but will a person with dementia know what that particular sound is for?
The only way to know for sure if a person is taking the medication is to actually see them take it.
You can try making it easier on yourself by eliminating any meds that are not truly necessary.
You sadly can't expect someone with a broken brain to remember how to do anything anymore.