{"id":7727,"date":"2016-01-14T07:11:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T13:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=7727"},"modified":"2017-09-19T13:13:55","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T18:13:55","slug":"managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips\"Managing<\/span><\/h1>\n

Moving to a new home is always a busy and complicated event. It can also be an emotional time for caregivers and a confusing change for people with memory problems. Here are some practical tips for minimizing distress when you have to move a loved one with dementia to a care facility. (For a printable moving checklist to help you stay organized during the move, click here<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Bring along favorite objects and photos<\/h2>\n

Set up your loved one\u2019s room before arrival, if possible, with familiar items from their home. Copies of cherished photos, throw pillows and blankets, and small trinkets that can fit on a dresser or nightstand will make the new setting seem less alien and more welcoming. The Mayo Clinic<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>recommends<\/span> that you label the things you bring (including the names of people in photos) and that you leave pricey or irreplaceable items at home to avoid breakage and loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Arrange for familiar faces on move-in day<\/h2>\n

Your loved one will do better with familiar people around on move-in day, too. You, another family member, or a close friend should be on hand throughout the process. If there\u2019s time before the move, take your loved one to the new place to meet staff members or see if they will come to you before moving day to get to know your relative. Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom, co-author of The Gift of Caring<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, recommends timing the move for a day when the staff members your loved one has met are on duty. <\/span><\/p>\n

If your loved one has an in-home caregiver now, the Alzheimer\u2019s Association <\/span>recommends<\/span> inviting him or her along on moving day to lend another familiar and comforting presence. You may have to request permission, as facilities may require that outside caregivers not provide care on-site.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Use the comforting power of food<\/h2>\n

Eckstrom also recommends arranging for favorite and familiar foods for your loved one\u2019s first few meals in the new community. To do this, you will have to talk to the chef and kitchen staff to find out whether they can accommodate your request. You or other friends and family should join your loved one for at least one meal on the first day, and if you can stay for more, so much the better.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Get to know the staff members by name<\/h2>\n

On move-in day, introduce yourself and your loved one to any staffers you haven\u2019t already met, to help create a sense of familiarity and routine. Make connections with the people who will care for your loved one in the new facility, and find out the best way to contact each of them. Getting to know individual staffers also makes communication about your loved one\u2019s care easier over the long run. <\/span><\/p>\n

5. Make a graceful exit<\/h2>\n

Taking your leave from a loved one with dementia can be tricky on the best of days; it\u2019s almost certainly going to be more challenging on moving day. If you already have a departure routine that works for your loved one, you may decide to follow that familiar routine. On the other hand, you may want to leave discreetly once your loved one is settled in if you think that will minimize separation anxiety. In either care, let the staff know when you plan to leave so they can provide support after you go.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Get support for yourself<\/h2>\n

Finally, recognize that moving day can wring you out, too, especially if you\u2019ve been your loved one\u2019s primary caregiver until now. Do something relaxing<\/a><\/strong> after your moving-day work is done, like dinner with your spouse, a phone call with a friend, a yoga class, or some other soothing activity. Take some time to acknowledge the work you\u2019ve done to give your loved one the care he or she needs, and then take a minute to plan your next visit.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips Moving to a new home is always a busy and complicated event. It can also be an emotional time for caregivers and a confusing change for people with memory problems. Here are some practical tips for minimizing distress when you have to move a loved one with dementia to a care facility. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,200,29],"tags":[30,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-7727","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-alzheimers-care","7":"category-families-caregivers","8":"category-caregiving","9":"tag-caregiving-2","10":"tag-dementia-care"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nManaging Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are some practical tips for caregivers to minimize distress when you have to move a loved one with dementia to an assisted living facility.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here are some practical tips for caregivers to minimize distress when you have to move a loved one with dementia to an assisted living facility.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-14T13:11:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-09-19T18:13:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casey Kelly-Barton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casey Kelly-Barton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/\",\"name\":\"Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-14T13:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-19T18:13:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a97863c1f6d466031974be45ce9c8e08\"},\"description\":\"Here are some practical tips for caregivers to minimize distress when you have to move a loved one with dementia to an assisted living facility.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\",\"description\":\"Empowering Families in their Search for Care\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a97863c1f6d466031974be45ce9c8e08\",\"name\":\"Casey Kelly-Barton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65d330a9fbb7308264432649d5324f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65d330a9fbb7308264432649d5324f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Casey Kelly-Barton\"},\"description\":\"Casey Kelly-Barton is an Austin-based freelance writer whose childhood was made awesome by her grandmothers, great-grandmother, great-aunts and -uncles, and their friends.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/author\/caseykb\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","description":"Here are some practical tips for caregivers to minimize distress when you have to move a loved one with dementia to an assisted living facility.\u00a0","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","og_description":"Here are some practical tips for caregivers to minimize distress when you have to move a loved one with dementia to an assisted living facility.\u00a0","og_site_name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","article_published_time":"2016-01-14T13:11:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-09-19T18:13:55+00:00","author":"Casey Kelly-Barton","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casey Kelly-Barton","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/","url":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/","name":"Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-01-14T13:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-09-19T18:13:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a97863c1f6d466031974be45ce9c8e08"},"description":"Here are some practical tips for caregivers to minimize distress when you have to move a loved one with dementia to an assisted living facility.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/managing-moving-day-for-dementia-patients\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Managing Moving Day for Dementia Patients: 6 Tips"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/","name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","description":"Empowering Families in their Search for Care","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a97863c1f6d466031974be45ce9c8e08","name":"Casey Kelly-Barton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65d330a9fbb7308264432649d5324f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65d330a9fbb7308264432649d5324f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Casey Kelly-Barton"},"description":"Casey Kelly-Barton is an Austin-based freelance writer whose childhood was made awesome by her grandmothers, great-grandmother, great-aunts and -uncles, and their friends.","url":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/author\/caseykb\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7727"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7733,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7727\/revisions\/7733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}