It is very difficult to have the responsibility to plan for an older person, who may have been the planner of our own lives. Many of them still have strong planning skills or desire to plan for themselves- and STILL want to remain active in the planning process. The elderly are aware and fearful of their loss of independence. They want to stay home. Families want to keep them safe, especially if they live away.

This tool should give you some guidelines to the level of the needs of your loved one. Please use the inquiry to determine a small picture of their physical, mental and emotional needs. The results give you some idea of their need levels and our suggestions of options that can be used to evaluate further. After you have completed the guide feel free to contact us to discuss the results or any of your other concerns.

We appreciate your care and concern that you are even thinking about resources for the elderly!

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Questions (Examples)

Do you believe your family member is at risk for falling in their home? (weakness, crowded, poor judgment with a cane/walker) *

Do you believe your person shows signs of less personal care? ( body odor, unkept hair, unshaved, unchanged clothes) *

Do you believe the elderly person shows less interest in maintaining their home? (less cleaning, picking up, accumulation of dishes, weak/too tired) *

Does your person show evidence of increased social isolation? (Describes losing friends, inability to get to church, lack of visitors, less reading, sleeps more in the day.) *

In your last conversation with your family member did they state difficulty with remembering?(places, recent activities) *

Do they seem overwhelmed with simple conversations and don’t participate? *

Do your family members make phone calls out to friends or to you? *

Have recent changes in life overwhelmed them? ( physical, medical, or emotional) *

Can your family member remember plans for a week to go to a doctor, have food in the house and/or have money? *

Are they orientated to time and place? (know where they are and day, week, month, year it is) *

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This tool should give you guidelines to the level of the need for a loved one. A low score of 0-10 generally indicates a better level of thinking independently and physical ability. Good communication started NOW about future plans, desires and abilities are important. An important piece of this is completing an Advanced Directive, Medical Power of Attorney, HIPAA designation, and becoming aware of local resources. These legalities are somewhat different in each state. Clarity now before a crisis saves anguish at a later time. Please continue on to our next web page for these resources. We also have a listing of levels of care and commonly used terms for you.

If your loved one’s needs reach into the 11- 35 range there are some definite deficits and a more thorough evaluation should be completed to see what the true needs are for this person. There are many community support services that can be used for temporary help or for more long-term solutions.

An elderly person in the 36-50 range demonstrates critical risk factors for needing frequent support, direction and resources. These can be started with an evaluation and creation of an individualized plan to meet those needs.

When you have completed the study and reviewed your loved one’s status please contact us to review the conclusions with complete confidentiality and professional guidance!

We appreciate the time and concern that you have already given to think about resources for the elderly! If now or at a later time you have questions please email us or call for professional answers to your concerns.

Created by Caroline Ostand, RNBC, MSN- Geriatrics/Administration ; Clinical Instructor, University of Charleston, WV; 6/ 2005.

Addendum February 24, 2022 Christopher D. Braley, BSW, MSW, LICSW

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