Chapter III.
Assessing Your Loved One's Needs
Finding the right care and living option for a loved one begins with an assessment of your loved one’s needs.
An assessment can be done by:
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A geriatric care manager in your home.
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A team that includes different health care professionals, such as a geriatrician, a nurse, a social worker, a dietitian, and others. Called a “geriatric assessment,” this is a comprehensive evaluation that looks at all aspects of an individual, including their physical conditions, their ability to function in their home and their emotional well being. Geriatric assessments are often conducted in a special clinic or center associated with a hospital.
You can get a very general sense of your loved one’s needs by conducting your own assessment. While this in no way replaces an assessment performed by a professional, it will give you a basic idea of the areas where help is needed.
The following are assessment tools that you might find useful:
