I was contacted from Senior Health First one afternoon about a lovely lady who is needing to transition to memory care. I immediately called the power of attorney who happened to live out of state. When speaking with the clients POA, which happened to be her family friend, she was starting to get worried that our client wasn't going to be able to stay at home any longer. I agreed to get an assessment done ASAP to ensure safety measures for the client. 

The client was very hesitant to have me come there, however the situation was not as big of a safety concern as everyone had led on. This provided all involved some relief and I continued to build a relationship with the client.

I knew two things had to happen in order for this to go smooth:

  • I needed to build my own relationship with the client as she was being told from every direction that she needed to move NOW and that was not going over very well.

  • I also needed to ensure safety while I gave the time necessary to build her trust.

First thing I did was listen. She slowly opened up as I made mental notes about questions I had around safety. After she was able to get all her fears out and saw that I was just there to listen, I asked her questions around some safety concerns instead of just telling her my concerns. 

  • Example: instead of saying " I don't think it is a good idea for you to go all the way downstairs to sharpen a pencil" I would say... "Would it be easier to sharpen your pencils if we move your sharpener upstairs? Here is a great place to put it".

Now for the safety action items:
Main concern was the use of stairs while we worked through the process of her move...

  • moved pencil sharpener upstairs 

  • put large trash can upstairs for friend to take to the outside trash when visiting 2x per week

  • fall alert system in case she fell while no one was there

  • discussed lighting in her house and how to decrease her risk of falls

  • walked home to mitigate falls by moving rugs or increasing lighting.



After three short weeks we were able to move our client to a wonderful, assisted living instead of memory care to ensure she was able to adapt, fit into her environment, and was able to maintain the independence she was able to do safely. Transitions are not a quick process and sometimes deserve more time to allow our aging population the respect they deserve!