The Memory Unit OT

Did you know that November is National Family and Caregiver’s Appreciation Month? It’s a time to intentionally show and share appreciation to people who have made huge sacrifices to care for another.

As an Occupational Therapist, you have a great opportunity to appreciate and support the care partners of your residents each and every day. These are people who have sacrificed and experienced so much.

Evaluate their Needs

It might sound strange to ‘evaluate’ a care partner. Now I’m not talking about balance testing and goniometry. I’m talking about taking the time to sit and listen to their needs. Particularly if we’re talking about a situation where the individual with dementia will return home or is already living at home. What times of day are the most stressful? What tasks are the most difficult? What are the biggest concerns? What are the greatest successes? What goals does this care partner have for themselves and for their loved one? How much support do they have? Taking the time to hear what families and care partners have to say is absolutely within your scope and absolutely essential in treating your patients and residents.

Treat the Client-Unit

Your 85-year-old patient named Rita is not your only client. The client-unit refers to the patient and any/everyone who will be assisting in her care. Why? Because if the goal is continuity of care, we have to consider every person involved. So when you’re coming up with treatment strategies and implementing techniques, you have to account for the needs of the care partners just as much as the needs of the residents. And you cannot properly and effectively do this unless you’ve spoken with (aka evaluated the needs) of the care partners involved.

Provide Long-Lasting Education and Resources

Quick handouts and informational packets are all well and good, but how supportive are they alone? Ask anyone who’s been a caregiver for someone living with dementia, I’m certain they will NOT tell you that they felt completely equipped after reading a pamphlet on dementia. That being said, to appropriately understand dementia is to provide quality dementia care. So yes, provide those informational resources (and I’ve got a few to share), but then take it a step further. Integrate those care partners into treatment sessions. Train them in skilled techniques in real-time. Offer support and strategies that are practical and to-the-issue/concern.

So if my patient’s care partner is having a hard time getting their loved one to brush his teeth, I’m not just going to provide a handout on why oral care can be challenging in dementia. I’m going to talk about that practically, relating it to real-life signs and symptoms that I’ve observed in this patient. Then I’m going to use oral care as a session, bringing the care partner into that session to determine the best strategies for success.

Offer Strategies for Quality Time Together

The care partners I’ve encountered in practice usually want to enjoy the time they have left with their loved ones. But sometimes they don’t always believe that to be possible. A lack of support can lead to the belief that quality time with their loved ones just isn’t possible anymore. We can totally rebuke and remove that myth. Find activities that are meaningful to your patient, and then find ways to integrate care partners into that activity. Teach ways to diffuse frustration and agitation. Model language and behavior that creates a positive emotional response in the patient. The care these families provide does not need to be a fight and battle to get the task done. Every day tasks can become a bonding experience between a person living with dementia and their loved one who is caring for them.

Be the Bad Guy

If you want your care partners to have emotionally positive experiences with their loved ones, then you need to be the one to ‘take the hit’. What do I mean? Well, if your resident has just been admitted to a long-term care facility and they’re trying to blame their loved one for that…. take the blame. Now obviously it’s important to establish a positive rapport with your residents as much as possible. But I’ve seen instances in which a resident will just not let up on a family member. And in those instances, I have the opportunity to take the blame off of that loved one and onto myself.

Do what you can to help preserve that family relationship. Let your care partners know that you have no problem being that person.

It’s okay if a resident doesn’t like me, as long as their quality of life is maximized. And I can ‘take that burden’; my families don’t need to worry.