Creating a daily care plan or personalized memory care plan is a crucial element of Alzheimer’s care and memory care. When you and your family work with a skilled in-home caregiver or help your loved one transition into an assisted living dementia care facility, you will work closely with your loved one’s caregiver to create their personalized memory care plan. Here is a guide to understanding the importance of personalized memory care plans for dementia patients, and what to expect from the process of creating one.

What Is a Personalized Memory Care Plan?

A daily care plan or personalized memory care plan is an action plan that is specifically designed for your loved one. The plan should outline your loved one’s diagnosis and prognosis, medical history, personal history, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, treatment goals, abilities, and needs. It should create a short-term and long-term plan of care for your loved one’s physical and mental health as the disease progresses. It should also create a consistent daily routine that combines personal care and assistance with the activities of daily living and memory care activities and health care services.

Why Are Daily Care Plans So Important?

Dementia and Alzheimer’s are progressive diseases that can cause a wide variety of physical and mental symptoms that change from hour to hour, day to day, and week to week. Having a plan in place will give you and your loved one’s caregivers the resources and tools they need to provide the highest level of care for your loved one.

Dementia is a stressful, emotional, and challenging condition and each patient has unique symptoms, needs, and preferences. Your loved one’s care plan should be carefully tailored to their symptoms, abilities, strengths and weaknesses, medical needs, goals, and preferences. When your loved one receives highly personalized care, you and your loved one will feel better supported and less stressed out and overwhelmed.

What Are the Benefits of Personalized Memory Care Plans?

Personalized memory care plans and daily care plans offer benefits to you and other family caregivers, your loved one, and your loved one’s caregiving team. The biggest benefits of personalized memory care and daily care plans are:

Enhanced quality of life
Increased satisfaction
Improved mood and reduced agitation, depression, anxiety, and boredom
Improved safety and security
More advanced healthcare
Better communication between the family and caregiving team
Enhanced preparation for different levels of care and moods from day to day
Improved emotional support
Tailored to your loved one’s needs and preferences
Flexibility to account for progression of the disease and changing needs

What Are the Most Important Elements of a Daily Care Plan?

Your loved one’s personal memory care plan and daily care plan should include information specific to their needs and goals. It should act as a guidebook or road map for their caregivers and for family and friends who are involved in their care. The most important elements that should be included in a personalized memory care plan and daily care plan are:

Specific action plans for changes in behavior or health
Contact information and instructions for emergency situations
Outline of specific support needed for challenging situations
Personalized medication management plan
Personalized health care management plan
Specific memory care exercises that are tailored to your loved one’s interests and passions
Schedule for household chores
Schedule for mealtimes and list of favorite meals, preferred foods, allergies and sensitivities, and disliked foods
Schedule for meal planning and preparation
Personal care routine
Preferred creative activities, social activities, intellectual activities., physical activities, and spiritual activities
Ideas or suggestions for conversation and socialization
Schedule for naps, breaks, or leisure time

Adjusting Your Loved One’s Care Plan as Their Disease Progresses

As your loved one’s disease progresses, you and your loved one’s caregiver will need to adjust the plan. Your loved one may not be able to complete some of the daily activities on the plan, and may need additional medical care and support. Their medication schedule may change, and they may need more advanced medical services.

They may not be physically able to do some of the activities they once enjoyed, and they may start exhibiting personality changes, agitation, restlessness, depression, aggression, and anxiety. You and your loved one’s caregiver will need to be flexible, and communicate regularly about your loved one’s changing needs so that you can adjust the daily routine as necessary.

What Is the Process of Creating a Personalized Memory Care Plan?

You will work closely with your loved one’s caregivers to help create their personalized memory care plan and daily care plan. It should be structured to provide a balance between pleasant activities or leisure activities and caregiving activities. The plan should be flexible so that it can be adjusted according to your loved one’s changing mood and needs, and as their disease progresses. Consider these factors when working with your loved one’s caregiver on their plan:

Your loved one’s likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, abilities, disabilities, and interests
Your loved one’s personal history
Your loved one’s health and medical needs
What times of day your loved one functions best
How much help and time your loved one needs for bathing, grooming, personal care, and dressing
Your loved one’s food preferences, dietary needs, and favorite foods
When your loved one prefers to get up and go to bed
Your loved one’s changing behavior or personality from day to day
How your loved one structured their day in the past, before diagnosis
Your loved one’s social calendar and preferences

The plan should include some flexibility throughout the day to allow for leisure activities or spontaneity.

Who Is Involved in Creating a Personalized Memory Care Plan?

There are many people involved in creating a personalized memory care plan and daily care plan. You should work with:

Your loved one
Other family members or family caregivers
The caregiving agency
The specific in-home caregivers who will be working with your loved one
Your loved one’s physician and other medical specialists
Your loved one’s spiritual advisor or leader, such as a priest, pastor, reverend, imam, or rabbi

When Should a Daily Care Plan Be Changed?

Your loved one’s daily care plan should be changed when they become bored, irritated, or disinterested in participating. Changing the plan and routine can give them the opportunity to enjoy some diversity and distraction and might give your loved one a new sense of joy and accomplishment.

The daily care plan or personalized memory care plan should also be changed if their daily needs or abilities change, or if they are progressing into a new stage of Alzheimer’s or dementia. They may no longer be able to participate in some of the activities in their care plan, and they may need new activities that better support their changing needs and abilities.

Schedule a Consultation for In-Home Memory Care in Southern Arizona

If you think it’s time for your loved one to get in-home memory care in Southern Arizona, our team at Placita In Home Care can help. We offer professional, compassionate in-home dementia care services in Tucson and the Phoenix Metro areas.

Our experienced senior care specialists offer assistance with the tasks of daily living, mobility assistance, transportation to medical appointments and community activities, and socialization and companionship. We also offer free assisted living placement services if you believe it’s time to consider a transition into an assisted living memory care facility. Call us today or contact us online to schedule a consultation.