Assisted Living Articles » Interacting with the Assisted Living Community
What is a care plan?
The purpose of the care plan is to communicate specific needs and to define how those needs will be served or met. The care plan may also note specific areas of concern which may require a higher level of monitoring to detect changes in health status.
After an assessment is completed, a plan of care (or care plan) is written. This document takes information obtained during the assessment, information given by the older adult, family members, friends or medical professionals and identifies how best an older adult will be served.
For instance, during the assessment, it may be determined that a person is not doing well with remembering to take a vital medication on time or on a regular basis. The care plan would be written up to indicate that a medication reminder be given at specific times of the day.
As the manager or nurse of the direct care department obtains new information about the older adult, the plan of care is changed, modified or adapted. Also, whenever there is a change of condition (a change in health or mental status or an occurrence which alters the needs of an individual), a re-assessment is likely to occur and amendments to the care plan are made. Sometimes, a completely new care plan must be written.
The care plan is utilized to train staff how to provide care to an older adult. It is also used as a tool to ensure the highest level of care is provided, based on the direction of the person writing the plan and based on the personal preferences of the older adult or responsible party.
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Last update: 2007-04-02 20:08
Author: Tech Support
Revision: 1.0
