Get help making the appointments for your elder family member as part of senior care in Clermont and see if they can alleviate stress on the day of the appointment. They should be able to help your family member before the appointment, provide appropriate transportation, and assist with tasks to help the family settle and get ready for the appointment. A medical appointment can take half the day to complete if you factor in travel time, check-in time, waiting time, and the return trip.
Preparing for the Appointment
On top of all of that, if your elderly family member needs help preparing to leave for the appointment, and then helping them settle and prepare to leave for the appointment, that can make the day even more stressful.
There are many things you can do the day before the appointment to ease stress and be prepared for the long day ahead.
Some things on that list could be:
- Confirming the appointment time and location
- Gathering the papers you will need for the appointment
- Deciding on what questions you want to ask
- Deciding what clothes you want to wear
- Figuring out where you will put the things you will need for the appointment
- Preparing to eat
- Figuring out what you will eat when you get home
- Figuring out what time you need to leave to give yourself plenty of time to get there
Your elder family member should also help decide when to do all of this.
If a client has a particular way of doing something and that’s not changed because of Care Pro involvement, there is no reason to change the way they do things. If there’s something that the client no longer wants to do, the Care Pro can do that instead. It’s important to work within the client’s routine as much as possible and to not simply assume that help is needed for every activity.
A custom Care Plan allows us to provide home care services in a way that honors the client’s routine.
I would account for the entire day and not just the time we’d spend for appointments.
Once we arrive back home, the client may not have the energy to do other things like run errands, do laundry, and cook. A plan has to take into account other activities that may need to be done around the house, especially if the client doesn’t have the energy to do them after the appointments.
A good plan accounts for time after appointments to give the client a break.
What can a Care Pro do on an Appointment Day?
A Care Pro cannot assist with anything that requires medical training. With regard to other tasks, a Care Pro can assist to a large extent.
A Care Pro can help a client follow their morning routine and assist with other activities the client may need to do before leaving the house.
The local Home Instead team will be able to advise the family, in conjunction with the Care Plan, regarding what transport support is available.
During an appointment, the Care Pro will provide transport and waiting support only.
A Care Pro is not a medical support person and will not become a person’s health care decision maker by virtue of accompaniment to an appointment.
Should a family member need to make medical care related decisions, that should be arranged independently. The Care Pro should not take on the role of medical care decision maker.
The Care Pro should provide logistical support to the family for the appointment, as needed.
This may include support to prepare to leave the house and to leave the house; support with meal time activities; and assistance with errands and other activities, as arranged in the Care Plan.
Upon return home, support may be provided to the family with the routine household activities.
For a family member residing in Clermont, transport support to and from health care appointments should be arranged in the Care Plan. Appointments in health care facilities in Clermont are generally located a significant distance from the health care facility and may increase the length of time the older adult is away from home.
How do you reset your household after a long appointment day?
Arranging for the older adult to return home should also be planned.
I would keep the initial return home simple.
After being away from home for several hours, the older adult may need to put away items they used, have a meal or snack, or change to more comfortable clothing.
The Care Pro may be able to assist with household tasks if directed in the Care Plan. The Care Pro should not perform tasks that would replace the older adult’s usual activities for the entire day.
What tasks can be postponed until the next day?
The older adult probably does not need to do an additional laundry load because of the appointment. Perhaps household projects can also be postponed. Non-medical errands that can be put off should be.
It is best to not schedule too many errands during the same outing.
This often helps the family plan for the week. The family may be able to simplify errand days by leaving at the times necessary for the appointment and allowing enough time to get to the appointment and back home.
This may help the family plan for what to expect. The Home Instead staff working in the Gainesville office may have other ideas and strategies to assist the family.
What Qualifies as Medical Decision Making?
According to the information provided, medical decisions are made by qualified medical professionals. However, if an individual is not a qualified medical professional, they are not allowed to make medical decisions.
Non-medical home care does not involve the practice of medicine. Therefore, Care Pros are not allowed to make medical decisions.
If there are any medical-related questions, the Care Pro should not be contacted.
Questions related to an individual's health and wellness may include:
- Symptoms and diagnosis
- Results of medical tests and procedures
- Treatment
- Medical procedures
If the Care Pro is contacted regarding any of the above, they should direct the individual making the inquiry to the appropriate healthcare professional.
The Care Pro should not:
- Provide a diagnosis
- Interpret medical test results
- Determine treatment
- Make medical judgments
- Perform medical procedures
- Decide the level of seriousness of an individual's medical condition
The Care Pro is not allowed to make any of the above decisions.
The Care Pro can assist the individual with activities of daily living and other tasks described in the Care Plan.
The Care Pro is not allowed to perform any medical duties.
The Care Pro should not make any decisions related to an individual's health and wellness.
It is assumed that the Care Pro can perform the non-medical home care tasks described in this document.
Clermont Senior Care FAQs
Do you offer home care services prior to medical appointment transportation?
Yes, absolutely. If home care services are organized in a manner to support the planning and preparation to attend the medical appointment, then home care services can assist by reminding the client of the morning routine, assisting with meal preparations, assisting the client to gather his/her personal belongings and assist the client in organizing his/her day.
Can a Care Pro drive my client to the appointment?
Transportation to medical appointments can be arranged and included in the home care services plan. It is always best to confirm with the local home care agency what arrangements, if any, will be made to provide transportation to and from the appointments.
Can a Care Pro communicate with the doctor?
Care Pros are not allowed to communicate with the doctor and replace the older adult or his/her family member in a medical setting. The older adult, with the help of his/her family, should decide who is going to participate with them in a medical appointment.
What should I do if there is a long drive and the medical appointment only takes a few minutes?
Plan your day in advance. You should consider that a long drive is needed to take and transport the older adult to and from the medical appointment, and he/she may need to wait to be seen. You may need to organize the household to assist the client in preparing for the medical appointment and ease the client's stress for the remainder of the day.
Will home care services be of any assistance when we get back from the appointment?
Yes, as long as it has been specified in the Care Plan, support can be provided upon the client’s return to the residence. Various tasks can be provided as support e.g. preparation of a simple meal. The goal of care is to assist the client to return to his/her normal routine. It does not mean that support is provided to assist client to do all the chores he/she has neglected to do.
Can Care Pros answer questions regarding medical conditions and support provided?
Home Instead provides non-medical care services. Therefore, Care Pros should not address any medical concern. Clients should contact their healthcare professionals for answers regarding medical conditions.
How do we decide if support required on appointment days should be included in the Care Plan?
We should identify the reasons that make appointment days challenging. If the client finds it challenging to leave the residence due to support required for toileting, for example, or needs support to carry out meals, it can be discussed with Home Instead. If the client has challenges carrying out errands, support can be provided to reset the client’s residence after errands. The Care Plan should cover all non-medical support required by the client.
Residents of Clermont who are finding it challenging to manage support required for appointment days can contact Home Instead Gainesville for assistance.
About the Author
Matt Cohn has spent more than 25 years helping older adults and their families find the right support to remain safe and comfortable at home. He is an owner of Home Instead locations serving Gainesville and other communities and has worked closely with families, caregivers, and care professionals through many of the decisions that come with aging and in-home care.
