Nursing home planning and the care plan

Considering your potential need for long-term care isn’t an easy feat. After all, it requires you to consider the possibility that there may come a time when you are no longer able to adequately care for yourself. It can also be a financial challenge given that long-term care can be quite expensive.

Under federal and state laws, nursing homes must develop a care plan for every patient. To create a care plan, a nursing home gathers medical information and reviews each patient’s health condition to determine the level of care needed and how best to provide it. An appropriate care plan will ensure that you receive the right kind of personal and health care services administered by appropriate staff members. The care plan will also ensure that your diet contains adequate nutrition to meet your needs, that you have equipment at your disposal to meet your needs, and that your nursing home services are provided with an appropriate frequency.

However, nursing home plans don’t necessarily help patients and their families know how they are going to pay for their care. They do not help patients and their families make important decisions about financial matters and medical issues. This is why many Californians find it beneficial to speak with an attorney who is experienced in estate planning and elder law to develop plans for long-term care, powers of attorney, guardianship, advance healthcare plans and more.

It can be scary to think about entering a long-term care facility and finding a way to pay for it. Yet, through competent planning, you can ensure that your financial needs are met, thereby setting you up for competent care in the future should the need arise. This not only protects your best interests moving forward, but also the financial interests of your loved ones by protecting your estate and their own assets that they may otherwise compromise to assist you in obtaining appropriate care.