You have parents and in-laws getting older: what stage are they in?
Think about the older adults in your family circle. Are they healthy and independent? Are they slowing down a bit? Or are they needing lots of help? Most families move through similar stages on their care journey. Our Care Road Map shows what may be ahead. There are specific tools you can download to support at every stage of the journey.
The Five Stages of the Eldercare Journey
Check out this road map. Where are the older adults in your family circle?
Some families are on the far left, in the “Family” light yellow section—just doing life together.
Others are in the “Family Concern”, the red section–noticing forgetfulness, a little concerned about a few falls, frailty or increased health issues.
In the light blue section, it shows how a fall or medical diagnosis can trigger the “Health Decline Cycle”, shown here by the wheel. Most older adults come out of the emergency room to rehab and then back to their living situation with increased care needs.
For an older adult, it’s not uncommon for the declining health cycle to lead to “Skilled Nursing or Hospice”, shown in the dark blue section.
On average, older adults will experience between two and five healthcare transitions in the year following a hospitalization. The average time for that cycle for an older adult is 21 months.
Download A Practical Tool For Each Stage
You have access to a few practical resources which will provide critical support at each stage. Each of these downloadable tools are linked on our Care Roadmap: Tools, so you can access them as they are relevant for your situation.
- If you are in the yellow section with healthy and independent older adults, that’s an ideal time to have essential conversations about care wishes. It can be difficult to start those conversations! so have a “Tips for Talking” guide.
- At the Family Concern stage, we have a “Checklist of Warning Signs” to help identify specific areas to assess in order to determine where support is needed.
- At the Health Decline stage, our “Housing and Care Comparison Chart” outlines all of the living options and the care associated with each one.
- In the final section, the “Hospice and Palliative Comparison” outlines specifically what those terms mean and what support is offered by each.
