Senior Care News

National Healthcare Decisions Day: Have You Asked Your Dad These Questions?

National Healthcare Decisions Day takes place on April 16th. It's a time to talk about healthcare decisions related to advanced care plans for your loved one. Here are some to start with.

National Healthcare Decisions Day takes place on April 16th. It’s a time to talk about healthcare decisions related to advanced care plans, which is an important conversation to have with your dad. Do you know what he would and wouldn’t want in different situations? It’s time to sit down and talk about his wishes as he ages. Have your brothers and sisters bring a dish and have a family dinner where your family has an honest discussion with your dad about when to get in-home care services.

These are the questions to ask him about starting in-home care services.

What Matters the Most to Him?

In-Home Care Shelby OH – National Healthcare Decisions Day: Have You Asked Your Dad These Questions?

Start by finding out what matters the most to your dad. If his situation changed, what would he most want to remain stable? Does he want to stay at his home with his dog or cat or would he want to be closer to his family?

Would he want to downsize or stay in his home with someone helping out? If he had medical needs to tend to, would he want to go to a nursing home until he recovered or be at home and have nurses helping out?

How involved would he want his kids in some of his care needs? You might find he doesn’t want his children to help a lot. He may want you to focus on keeping him company over administering medications or cleaning wounds and incisions.

How Is His Health?

It’s a good time to address your dad’s health. Does he have any health issues? Is there a family history of other health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, etc?

It’s important to know what your dad has for health issues and what could affect him. A family history of stroke is important to keep in mind, as you might not have a lot of time to prepare for a sudden change in health. Having a plan laid out will save time and stress.

Has He Completed An Advanced Directive and Named a POA?

A power of attorney gives someone the power to make decisions regarding your dad’s medical care or financial decisions. He has to choose the people he trusts and fill out the power of attorney with an attorney.

If you are his POA, make sure you know his wishes when it comes to things like life-saving measures, ventilators, feeding tubes, exploratory surgeries, etc. It should be laid out in his advance directive or living will, but you need to know his wishes. Ask him to go over them.

Is his goal to be at his home as much as possible if he’s very ill or recovering from an injury? You can make that happen by arranging in-home care. Whether he’s had a stroke or fell and broke his hip, arrange in-home care services to ensure he’s able to recover at home and not have to go to a nursing home or stay in a hospital.

If you are considering hiring In-Home Care Services in Shelby OH, call the caring staff at Central Star Home Health at (419) 610-2161.  Providing services for families in Mansfield, Lexington, Bellville, Crestline, Galion, Shelby, Ashland, Ontario, Bucyrus, Mt. Vernon, Marion, Willard, and the surrounding areas.

Stephen Sternbach

Recent Posts

Categories

Contact Us About Home Care

Skip to content