Assisted Living Articles » Interacting with the Assisted Living Community
What is a family conference?
This term was adopted from the skilled nursing and hospital industries. Assisted Living communities use this term, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the entire family is involved.
The focus on Assisted Living is on the older adult themselves. They are viewed as being capable (even if they are not) to be involved in the direction of their plan of care. Assisted Living communities call such meetings a family conference, as legal or responsible parties are often invited to participate in and help with the assessment process or documentation or review of a plan of care.
Assisted Living providers find that the more eyes and ears and the more perspective which can be placed on the needs of an older adult, the better the end result and the happier the consumer will be.
Families should be aware that when an older adult disagrees with a family member, the Assisted Living community will likely emphasize and act on the wishes of the older adult. Only if an older adult is at risk will the community likely involve other responsible parties.
Even if a person has severe dementia or is not able to communicate verbally, the older adult is involved in the family conference and is asked to give feedback and to outline their preferences by other means of communication or from other non-verbal means of agreeing or disagreeing.
Some families are surprised by the Assisted Living community’s tendency to side with the older adult at times of disagreement. In the state of Washington, the resident is consider to have very specific rights, even if a Durable Power of Attorney document has been initiated. The community is likely to be more receptive to acting upon the direction of a guardian (someone who has legal authority to make decisions through a specific court process).
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Last update: 2007-04-02 20:10
Author: Tech Support
Revision: 1.0
