These questions can help you determine whether long term care is appropriate.

Isolation/Depression

• Is the person isolated from social contact?
• Are the person’s sleeping habits, eating habits or activity levels changing?

Daily Activities/Eating Habits

• Is the person having a difficult time walking, bathing, dressing or eating?

Bruises/Falls

• Has the person shown an increased susceptibility to falling and bruising?

Cognitive Ability

• Is the person’s mental reasoning ability at a level where personal safety and the safety of others is at risk?

Increasing Medical Needs

• Does the person need medical care that is hard to provide?
• Do medications need to be increased?
• Does the person need help taking medications?
• Does the person use medical equipment, such as an oxygen tank, or need daily or weekly treatments like dialysis?
• Is rehabilitative care needed, such as after a surgery or injury?

Caregiver Burnout

• Is a family caregiver exhausted due to the amount of care the person needs?

Medication Errors/Missed Doctor’s Appointments

• Are the person’s medications being mixed up, or not taken at all?
• Are doctor’s appointments being missed?

Household Management

• Can the person still manage to run a household, such as keeping a checkbook or paying bills?
• Is there a dramatic change in how the house is kept?

If you’ve answered yes to a number of these questions, it may well be time to talk about getting some form of assistance.