Here is the scenario: you are an adult child who begins to explore the options of finding a suitable type of care to your elderly parent, who wants to remain in his/her home as long as possible. The traditional home care agencies are also good but is there a method where the caregivers at home can have a better acquaintance with your loved one and assist them in restraining the choices that are being made? That is the reason why the Self and Family Managed Care (SFMC) programs are good because they emphasize on the preventive aspect of the process. Still, it is good that one should first consider the pros and cons of the situation not to make a rush decision of going head first without understanding whether SFMC is what they wanted or rather needed at all.
Comprehending Self and Family Managed Care
Self and Family Managed Care Programs enable any individual to make his/her own arrangements of home care services and get financing of a regional health authority. Nevertheless, unlike home care agencies where a caregiver provides a worker with a schedule and arrangement of work, the decision is up to you. Thus, you will be tasked to recruit caregivers, develop a care plan concerning your family member and when the services to be provided will be administered depending on the needs and desires of your loved one.
Who Qualifies to get a Self and Family Managed Care Program?
Particularly, SFMC programs eligibility and admittance prerequisites might differ across regions. Overall, the applicants must demonstrated need of care that has been assessed, that is, they have been acknowledged by a medical professional as needing help on a daily basis like bathing, dressing, or meal preparation. They should also reside within the geographical coverage of the program, and should be willing and/or capable of doing so, manage their own care, or do so with the assistance of a family member designated to that end.
Self and Family Managed Care Pros
The SFMC programs have a number of benefits over the conventional home care alternatives:
- Greater Choice and Control: They encourage personal choice towards choosing their caregivers. This would be a friend or neighbor, but failure to which then it would be good to get an experienced and tested TA which you can get through agencies. The other aspect you will enjoy about the home care agencies is that you will have the liberty to organize the type of care your loved one requires according to his or her desires. Time flexibility provides a convenient method of scheduling the caring services where there is the capacity to adjust the working hours when need arises.
- Increased Flexibility: Other home care services are not flexible with their fixed timings, but shift possibilities imply that SFMC does not have to be either. Whether it is amending the level of care, during a period of illness or designing a new form of care during Easter holidays, SFMC makes it possible to take the situation under control independently.
- Potential Cost Savings: Accordingly, direct management seems to be more effective in certain situations compared to applying traditional home care. Nonetheless, to gain access to programs available at the SFMC, an individual must obtain financial assistance of the regional health authority; there are no agency expenses concerning the process of sourcing and recruitment of caregivers. But, he or she must take into consideration the chances of having administrative expenses as well as any other additional expenses that might be incurred in the recruiting of caregivers, training or background testing of the caregivers among others.
- Independence and Dignity: The greatest advantage of the client self-care is that the people get their care services independently and with dignity. It lets the individuals determine when and how they need the assistance and therefore develops high esteem levels in the people concerned. Remaining at their own house also has advantages since individuals are relaxed and comfortable within their own environment and it makes the care receiving environment more pleasant.
- Family Involvement Potential: SFMC programs allow a family member to be involved in care arrangement. This is more often than not, extended to arranging their appointments and their financial requirements as well as acting as an emotional crutch and companion to those they love. The family members can be engaged as consumers to improve the existing family relationships towards providing care to the targeted person.
Disadvantages of Self and Family Managed Care
Although SFMC sounds enticing, it also has its problems:
- Greater Accountability: SFMC takes up much time and effort to carry out care activities. This consists of rostering caregivers, payroll, timesheets and probably employee management. You will need to be ready to take up a lot of time and energy in order to get your loved one the care that they need.
- Administrative Burden: SFMC programs have a learning curve. The initial paper work, maintenance of records and meeting program requirements may seem daunting. Certain local initiatives could provide assistance services or training to facilitate the administrative side of SFMC to the participants.
- Potential for Conflict: This is where the caregiver must be a diplomat, a good communicator so that he/she smoothens out any issues that come up between the two of you. The rights of the care giver in specific should be well spelt out and there must be some precedents on how to deal with any complaint or plight the care giver might have against a given child.
- Short Supply of Caregivers: Caregivers may be readily available but getting a qualified one, may be a problem especially when you are in a specific area. Some of them might not be readily accessible or sufficient to serve the high populace of small population-based rural health units. They might not have sufficient contacts among the people who require the service and this might be a key hurdle in the access but learning about local resources and possibly going through agencies that supply care givers could be the remedy to this hurdle.
- Emotional Stress: It becomes hard which is commonly witnessed when assuming an active role, as a family member, in accepting the personal care responsibility. In this light, doing several tasks simultaneously, with a view of juggling care giving roles at home, work and other personal obligations, can lead to stress and caregiver burnout. Some of the tips which may be useful: include having friends or relatives who may be able to assist you occasionally seek the services of respite care providers who will look after the child on occasions.
Decision Making: Things to Consider
Finally, the question of whether a Self and Family Managed Care program is the one to choose depends upon a number of very important factors:
- The Needs and Preferences of the Individual: This implies that one needs to examine a specific condition in order to determine the nature of the attention that is needed. Does your loved one handle a few tasks or more complicated ones and does he or she require close attention or can be given more freedom? Determine also their preferred flexibility and how comfortable they would be handling part of their care. Honest conversation with your loved one regarding their preferences is key to a successful move into any care program.
- Family Capacity and Support Network: Self-managed care takes time and resources. Be practical with the time the family members would have to spend in taking care of the care management tasks, such as the scheduling, payroll, and possibly solving caregiver problems. This can be a good support system of friends, relatives or even community services so that the family does not strain so much.
- Local Resource and Support: Find out more about resources and support services that your local Self and Family Managed Care program has to offer. Other programs offer administrating workshops, training of caregivers and follow-ups to the members. Also, look into what resources are available in your community that can provide respite care, emotional support group or any other service that can supplement the care you are giving.
Conclusion
Self and Family Managed Care programs provide an empowering and distinctive angle of home care. The comparison of advantages and disadvantages and a close evaluation of your particular situation will allow you to define whether SFMC is your match. Talking to medical staff about this possibility and learning more about the resources available through your local program can help you to get useful information to make this decision. It is important to remember that the objective is to develop a plan of care that would promote independence and dignity to your loved one and at the same time provide a sustainable and manageable solution to the whole family.
