Attn: Seniors and their loved ones - You have a choice regarding your selection of care providers.   I cannot stress enough the importance of doing your own homework finding out how the healthcare system works and what is available to seniors if needed.

The seniorcare industry is just bursting with new businesses everyday and when it comes time in a crisis to make a decision families are often hit with like 20 names of providers who they have never heard of and know nothing about. Hospitals are in a hurry to discharge patients and all too often don't have the time to sit down with families and talk about what would be the best route of care for their loved one.

All too often I receive calls from family members who don't even know where to start. Starting begins with understanding the healthcare system and how it works. What medicare covers, what it does not. What services are available in the home and not. What the different levels of care are - independent living, assisted living, nursing home and how much it costs. What is available in those buildings and how much does each service in the building cost. There is so much to learn and if you are new to it, it is easy to be convinced that a certain service is the best thing for mom or dad in the time of crisis. If you don't know any better than anything sounds good if it takes care of the crisis. Please make sure you begin to educate yourself on various topics and have a general understanding of how the system works. It will make a world of difference when the crisis comes and it will enable you to make a choice of care versus a band aid on a crisis.

All too often families thinkabout short term solutions when in fact they need to begin to look at long term problems especially when you have a memory impaired loved one or someone who has lots of medical problems that physically impair them. Homecare may help for awhile but what is the long term care plan? It can include home care but that means maybe moving mom or dad in with you and supplementing a caregiver for while you are at work. It might not be homecare. What if mom or dad is wandering and in particular wandering all night and out of the house? If you cannot address the issue with an awake caregiver overnight to stay with the person than you might want to look at facility that has password protected unit that protects wanderers from leaving the unit. Again this is why I stress educating yourself on what is available. There are options and you have choices. Make the best choice for your family member.