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A care plan is put together for the patient, or resident, first of all depending on whether you are referring to someone living in a facility or living at home. IF you are trying to create something in writing for a home care situation, then you want to make it clear all the areas that the caregiver will be responsible, and based on what the patient needs done for them and wants done for them. In a facility, it will be more cut and dried, and focused on 'nursing' or 'patient' care....maintaining safety, activities of daily living, medication administration dr. orders, weight management and observations on resident behaviors, eating, sleeping, agitation etc. More residential facilities have forms that outline a care plan. I know that I get a copy of each revised one every three months and then we can have a case conference meeting if I want one, where we discuss my concerns and how to incorporate those into the care plan.

I do think that either type of plan, needs to start with a 'history' of the patient or resident....so those providing care know 'who' this person is, by their life experiences, work, education and interests, hobbies etc. In a home caregiving situation, there is more opportunity to spell out in a plan, what the patient desires in terms of daily routines, meal times, foods they like or don't like etc. Also, in a home care plan, you may be adding on the specific duties that a home care worker would be doing in the home for the person they are caring for, if it's a person being hired privately. If a caregiver is coming from a home care agency, they will have their own form of a care plan....and their own rules about what that person does or does not do in the home according to their own licensing as an agency and what type of worker you are bringing in. I've probably said too much, but it wasn't clear if you were writing your own for a home care worker, or looking for a more generic one that was prewritten.
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Pam's list is right on target. In addition, observe the client-to-staff ratio. When I coordinated services for several agencies involved in Individual Service Plans for different age groups, this was often why services were not consistent. High staff turnover contributes to decreased quality of care. If possible, get an outside advocate who can visit at random days and times convenient to the visitor. It would help if you could file a consent form with the provider that states your appointed advocate has permission to discuss your family member's condition. (Review HIPPA) Always thank the staff for doing a good job.
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Beyond the daily needs, for a family caregiver, I believe a care plan should include 3 things: 1) Medical Summary Report, 2) Medical Action Plan, and 3) Daily Care Plan.

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Care plans should be individualized. Each area of the activities of daily living should be covered and designed to allow the caree to do as much for themselves as possible. I agree with ferris1 that the goal of care should be socialization and the opportunity to function at their level.
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Care plans address specific needs pertaining to each individual patient. They vary because each person and there symptoms are unique and so the care plan must be tailor-made to encompass what the patient is capable of doing. Look at it as a road map to achieving positive goals given the patient's limitations. At best, all one can expect of a person with dementia is that they are socialized and given the opportunity to function at their level. I hope this helps.
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I do believe Pam covered it all.
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I've just looked up some local care plans - the ones related to Social Care, as opposed to nursing or health care or rehab, do deal with life in general. What irritates me about the best I've found (after an admittedly cursory skip around the web) is that it veers wildly from purest jargon - "My indicative budget is…" to childish illiteracy - "The people who help me To do my support plan are…"

Tsk. Who needs copywriters, eh?

I digress. Broad chapter headings cover:

who's involved - client, carers, key workers, family members, neighbours etc.
a potted biography of the client, aimed at describing the client as a person
the client's interests and activities
the client's current concerns and difficulties i.e. what he needs help with
the client's preferences about where support should come from - family or agency, male or female, cultural fits etc.
the client's hopes and aims, general and specific, including encouragement to mention any specific things he would like to accomplish
the client's views on budget management
plans for how that budget is to be controlled, i.e. by whom if the client needs help
risk management
crisis management
preferred weekly timetable
Any Other Business

So that should keep a couple of social workers good and busy all morning...

To be fair, the authors have attempted to think of everything. It's not a bad start. So, Berbyt, a care plan can be as specific - Nursing Care, or ADL as Pam S has shown above - or as general as is appropriate to a particular situation. What does seem to be universally important is that the client is as closely involved as possible in drawing it up, that the client's consent to share information with relevant parties is obtained where possible, that the plan names names and gives contact details of those who are responsible for implementing it as far as possible, and that it is easily adapted to changing circumstances.
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Should care plans be general (i.e. ADL's (activities of daily living)) or projections on handling or preventing events that might happen, For example falls.
I have been constructing care plans for my in-home ADW, Seeking examples on the Net I find examples for nursing-care plans. However there are few if any on ADL's such as managing a household, banking, etc.,etc.
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Written orders from an MD if the patient is in a facility. If you expect aid for ADL's (activities of daily living) spell them out:
•Bathing: weekly and scheduled
•Personal Hygiene: teeth and gums and FEET. Hand washing!
•Cognition: remind day date time and events
•Behavior: praise the good, redirect the bad
•Dressing: appropriate choices for the weather
•Grooming: hair and makeup
•Eating: frequency and portion control
•Elimination (Toileting including bowel and bladder) hand washing!
•Mobility: exercising and strengthening (PT)
•Transfers: detailed procedures and posters (OT)
• Medications: a clear CHART of what and when

Housekeeping, cooking, laundry and cleaning are not part of patient care.
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