Hi there & welcome back to Aging Together! As a recap, April is Occupational Therapy Month, Stress Awareness Month, & Distracted Driving Awareness Month. In this final article for April, we’re returning to a spotlight on OT Month! In this article, I’m reviewing a case study showcasing how an occupational therapist can be an excellent asset in the community as an independent consultant.

Recap on Senior Care Consultants

As a recap, senior care consultants typically have expertise in a range of areas related to aging, including healthcare, housing, financial planning, legal issues, and social support. They can help older adults and their families to identify their needs, navigate the healthcare system, and connect with resources and services that can support their well-being and quality of life.

Some specific tasks that senior care consultants may assist with include:

• Conducting a needs assessment
• Developing a care plan
• Coordinating care
• Providing education and support
• Advocating for the older adult

Aging adults and their families/caregivers often face numerous challenges that can impact their quality of life. These may include health issues, mobility limitations, social isolation, and cognitive decline. These challenges can make it difficult for aging adults to participate in activities that they enjoy and find meaningful. These challenges can also impact the families and/or caregivers in their day-to-day responsibilities. This is where an occupational therapist as a senior care consultant can help.

Recap on Occupational Therapy Practitioners (OTPs)

As another recap, OTPs are a good fit to be senior care consultants for several reasons:

• Holistic perspective: OTPs are trained to take a holistic perspective on health and well-being, 
• Expertise in aging-related issues
• Familiarity with healthcare systems and resources
• Advocacy skills: OTPs are skilled advocates for their clients
• Interdisciplinary collaboration: OTPs are trained to work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals and service providers

So you may be wondering, how does this actually look when it plays out? Let’s take a look at this case report.

A Case Report: An Aging Adult & Their Family

I had a family member come to me with a series of unfortunate events ultimately leading to a hospitalization. At their wits’ end, they reached out for an initial consultation to see how they can move forward, and potentially prevent something like this from happening again. 

The Past

Now let’s rewind back and figure out what’s going on. In our first call, we discussed the series of events that had occurred thus far. The family member noted that a few years back, their father had begun to start showing some signs of memory loss. The family had shrugged this off as a normal part of aging.

Over the years, various issues arose including the father starting to forget important things such as medications, health appointments, and paying the bills. Unsurprisingly, the family continued to pass these signs and symptoms off as a normal part of aging.

The Present

So, something happened and now this family member is reaching out to me through a friendly referral. The father fell in his home, and now he’s in the hospital. While the family member expressed that her father was receiving occupational and physical therapy in the hospital, they also expressed that their schedules never seemed to align, and thus the family member couldn’t get any 1:1 time with the therapies to truly understand what was happening and/or how to prevent something like this from happening again. The family member also relayed that the hospital’s therapy team had recommended rehab following the hospital for their father, but didn’t know if that was the right decision for them. 

Crisis mode ensued. This family member’s father has just fallen, he’s in the hospital, he needs rehab, the medical team needs decisions made, and the family member has no idea what to do.

The OTP Consultation – Part I

Upon hearing the initial story, I first offered my condolences, and then focused on the immediate need – the father is being recommended for rehab following the hospital. I broke down the different levels of care and my presumed understanding of why the therapy team must have recommended that level of care. Having worked in that setting for nearly six years, I have a deep understanding of the nuances that go into rehab recommendations. The family member seemed to better understand the situation and recommendations at hand following our discussion, and I offered the family member to revisit the other concerns once the father is recovering in rehab. 

The family member reached out again a week later, informing me that their father was now in rehab and recovering well. The family member now wanted to prepare for a safe return home and to work on preventing a similar situation from reoccurring. This time, I searched for more answers related to his current hospital and rehab outcomes. Was he evaluated for cognitive impairments? What were the results? What medications is he on, and why? Who manages everything at home usually? What is he able to do now? Following many other questions along those lines, I began explaining the rehab process to the family member and initiated conversations about how to proceed.

The Future

In the end, we decided to focus on three broad areas over the next few months, meeting 1-2x/month to not overly burden the family member but enough to make consistent progress. The three broad areas the family member wanted to focus on were: dementia, falls, and long-term care planning.

Continued OTP Consultations – Part II

Over the course of the next couple months, I met with the family member regularly to review what dementia is and isn’t, the stage-wise progression of it, and potential strategies to manage certain behaviors should they arise. We also reviewed some education re: fall prevention that was provided to the family by the rehab facility when the father discharged home, along with some recommendations they had provided for equipment and modifications. 

Now, the father was recommended for continued skilled therapy services following discharge home, specifically home health therapies, where the therapists and a nurse would come to the father’s home. However, the father was adamantly opposed to having people come to his home, and therefore he preferred to go to an outpatient clinic to continue therapy instead. This left quite the room for error in carryover since there would no longer be a therapist assessing the father’s home and providing appropriate safety recommendations. 

With the help of the family member, I was able to gain a superficial understanding of the general layout of the father’s home and provide a few more specific recommendations, and then guide them towards the appropriate resources to obtain any equipment and modifications.

Emergency Preparedness & Care Planning

Once all of these semi-immediate needs were managed, we turned our attention to emergency preparedness and long-term care planning. 

Emergency Preparedness

What is emergency preparedness? It can mean different things in different situations and industries. For aging adults specifically, this involves taking steps to ensure that older adults are safe and have access to the necessary resources during an emergency or disaster. This includes planning for emergencies such as natural disasters, medical emergencies, and other unexpected events that can occur.

Long-term Care Planning

And what is long-term care planning? Long-term care planning for aging adults involves creating a comprehensive plan for managing their healthcare and other needs as they age. This type of planning is important because it can help ensure that older adults receive the care and support they need to maintain their quality of life and independence as they age. This planning involves understanding the physical, cognitive, emotional, and financial needs and resources of the person needing care. 

The OTP Consultation – Part III

We talked through various situations and emergencies that can potentially arise based on the family’s location and the father’s medical, physical, and cognitive needs. I offered advice on selecting the most appropriate senior care options based on the father’s needs and preferences. For example, if he wanted to remain in his home, what options are available for in-home care? If he prefers or would be open to being in a supportive environment, what are the various options, such as independent living, assisted living, or a nursing home?

There are so many options when it comes to seeking and obtaining care for a loved one, so it’s imperative to find the best-fit option for both the person needing care and their family. We collaborated on creating comprehensive care plans in case of any of the situations occurring, which helped establish a sense of comfort and control over unexpected events in the future.

The Last Consultation

At the end of our last consultation, the family member expressed a significant sense of relief for what they originally were extremely stressed about due to lack of awareness. They relayed how beneficial it was to have someone guide them through this process, especially with the specific needs of their family and their father. I haven’t checked in on them recently, but this is reminding me that I should do that next! 

Conclusion

The role of an OT as a senior care consultant is crucial for promoting optimal quality of life for aging adults and their families/caregivers. By providing comprehensive assessments, developing individualized care plans, and promoting continued participation in meaningful activities, an OT can help aging adults to maintain their independence, reduce their risk of falls and injury, and improve their overall well-being. Additionally, by providing education and support to family members and caregivers, an OT can help to alleviate some of the stress and burden of caregiving and promote better outcomes for all involved. For those considering senior care options, consulting with an OT can provide valuable insight into the unique needs and strengths of the individual, as well as recommendations for care that can help maintain independence and quality of life.

Does this sound like a relevant experience for you? Are you in over your head trying to figure it all out? Reach out today for a free initial consultation with me and I’ll let you know if you’d benefit! You can find me at cchealthysolutions.com. 

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At Caregiver Consulting & Healthy Solutions, we are dedicated to helping you navigate aging together. This blog page is for everyone: whether you are an older adult looking to age in place, a caregiver seeking support and guidance, a young or middle-aged adult planning for the future, or simply someone interested in learning more about the aging process. I hope you’ll join me on this journey. Let’s navigate aging together.