Medication management is crucial in almost all retirement communities. Approximately 77.5% of residents in retirement communities need assistance in medications. However, if one has dementia, it might be difficult for the senior to monitor his or her own medication intake. Hence, it is crucial for professional team members at retirement communities to lay down the necessary steps to manage your loved one’s medications. In this article, we present the top four ways that over 55 communities in Lake Worth, FL, follow to provide medication management for your loved ones.
Organize a List of Medications
Team members in retirement communities will collect the prescriptions that your loved ones’ doctors have given. Team members will check if they have these medications in sufficient supply, and also administer the medication based on the doctors’ instructions. However, team members will go the extra mile to find out if your loved one is taking any other kinds of supplements that were not prescribed by the doctor. For example, vitamin C tablets, herbal preparations and over-the-counter medications are among the list. Team members will also ask how many cups of caffeine your loved ones drink a day. All these are useful and important information to monitor your loved ones’ overall health.
Compliance Assessment
One crucial point is whether your loved one is able to remember his or her own prescription. Occasionally, seniors only remember one medication and forget the other medication. This makes them less compliant than what is ideal. Perhaps this is due to a deterioration of the memory due to aging. This is where the professional and passionate team members intervene, to make sure to constantly remind your loved one on what medications to take. Team members will constantly ‘test’ your loved ones by questioning if they knew the name and the purpose of each medication.
Administration of Medication
Medication can be administered by professional nurses or qualified team members at the retirement communities. Medication can be administered via verbal reminders or actual administration by the nurses.
Inform Team Members about Changes in Medication
The last thing we want is to administer medications that your loved one does not need. This may affect his or her health in subtle ways and cause unwanted side effects. So, it is the responsibility of you as a family member to inform the team members or doctors on the changes in prescriptions. A well equipped retirement community would have highly certified nurses who can pinpoint potential side effects of incorrect medication administration, and intervene effectively.
At Discovery Village at Palm Beach Gardens, we have long-term professional and highly qualified team members and nurses who provide assistance to your loved one in diverse areas including medication management such as assistance in daily tasks. If you are worried about medication management or lack thereof in a retirement community, this blog post should clear your doubts! If you are interested in living in a retirement community, contact Discovery Village at Palm Beach Garden today to find out more about our senior assisted living and memory care programs.
