Whether you are moving into a care home yourself, or making the difficult decision to move your loved-one in to a care home it can be a very emotional time. Change is always somewhat scary, and particularly when the move wasn’t planned or expected things can be daunting. Despite this there are a lot of steps that you can take to help make the move a positive one.
When moving from a home that has been lived in for many years, often filled with many sentimental objects and memories with family, it can help to bring some possessions along to make the new surroundings more familiar.
Some items to consider bringing with you:
This is heavily dependent on the amount of storage space in the room and also if you are able to bring in regular changes of clothes for seasonality, for example. We would recommend initially bringing enough clothes and toiletries for two weeks to get you started. We would also recommend bringing toiletries that are familiar to you or your loved one to make things feel at home.
The best approach is to help the care home staff get to know a new resident before they move in. One way of helping this process is to compile a Life History Book that contains key facts about yourself or your loved one. You can include copies of photos, dates of special events and key interests to act as a conversation opener. If you don’t have time to compile a full book a simple list or story can still be very helpful.
Things to consider including in a Life History Book:
As with any move, there are many people and organisations that need to be made aware. We recommend making a list of who they are and their contact information to make things easier, you can do this yourself or with help from relatives.
If you find yourself with a long list of people to contact it may help to give your relatives permission to deal with matters on your behalf so that the list can be shared between you, meaning less phone calls to make and less letters to write yourself.
Some people and organisations that you may need to contact include:
Everyone is different but we would advise you allow yourself the full day to handle the move itself and give time for settling in. We would suggest that relatives helping with the move stay to have a meal together, and you can even ask your chosen home to prepare a favourite food to mark the special occasion.
We would also recommend speaking with the home leading up to the move to get an idea of what to expect on the day of arrival and the initial days of settling in.
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