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I have read different suggestions as to visiting a loved one when first admitted to a memory care facility; some say to stay away for 2 weeks. What experiences have you had with this?

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Thanks to all who responded. We took Dad to the facility today and all went very well. He arrived around 1 and needed to be assessed a bit more by the nurse. He then attended a talk on the Korean War, then went to a meditation "meeting". While he was doing these things, we were getting his room ready. We all (four of us) had a delicious dinner with him. My husband and I left as we live the furthest away and his two daughters stayed. Will check with them tomorrow to see how Dad did.

The staff was wonderful. The majority of them came up to us, introduced themselves, and shook our hands. I think Dad may have a bit of a sore hand from shaking so many hands today. Dad actually laughed really hard which is something we haven't seen in a long time. All is good.......
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It sounds like your Dad is in a good place. Hopefully your Mom will come to be OK with it. Thanks for sharing.
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NOthing is cut in stone, and every body is different. Good luck
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We have been visiting Dad every day, no problems except he is normally asleep in the morning..LOL So we are adjusting our visits to his afternoon wake up time. I have also heard time limits but our MC said come whenever.. Dad is late stage. Our visits are only about a half hour at a time.
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If you opt to stay away for two weeks, you should still call in and get daily reports. When mom went to Rehab, I only had to stay out for three days when the floor nurse told me she was settled in and behaving. On the other hand, when my sister moved to a new group home, it took two full weeks.
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Well dad got moved up to the MC unit this afternoon.. about an hour before we got there, so his stuff was still being moved. He was sitting in front of the TV with some others, watching a nice movie, drinking a juice, and seemed pretty content. Of course Mom said.. this is not as nice as downstairs, this is so sad. As for me.. I thought it was great he was settled in a homey setting with other people besides his sitter, and awake and talking! Lots of staff, and some of the residents were talking or sleeping.. I think he will make some "friends" and be content there. As soon as mom left to sort his clothes to her satisfation.. people woke up, were talking... They were having oysters and a Mardi Gras party tonight! I told her it will be better tomorrow as all his things will be settled, and I asked if he could have a bath tonight... only bed baths in AL area for him, no area tub.. Mom is now worried about him eating.. he had one on one care while he was stuck in AL.. I feel like more people to interact with will be better, and of course they will make sure someone is feeding him! quite a few of the residents were in thier rooms,, with the doors open, and doing things, and many seemed able to feed themselve, like dad was a few months ago. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow once she can get his schedule, news, etc.
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Well, I would talk with your memory care advisor.. Dad needs to get acclimated to the place. He needs to depend on his new staff for everything. Maybe see him once a week or twice. This is where it gets sketchy, you don't know how he does after you leave. I was told to make sure a staff member has Dad to pre-occupy him while I leave the premises, so he does't see me go. This helps so Dad doesn't feel abandoned. Then I was told to call about 10 minutes after I leave to see how DAd reacted to my visit and my departure. Make it happy, make it fun, give goodies to him an staff, And Make It a Short Visit, 15-30 minutes.
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Mthr's memory care did not even mention staying away to let her settle in. She was in severe hypoxia and needed transfusions the next week, and seemed no worse for wear with us coming and going. She was going to be really confused no matter what.

The need to stay away is an individual one, and I think that talking to the head nurse daily is the best way to asses that situation.
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I think it varies from person to person. I personally feel that it helps our loved one to adjust if visited frequently, they don't feel so isolated. For some people, they continue to find adjustment difficult, but then they could be at home and be agitated and state 'they want to go home'.
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