Adjusting to New Caregiver Experiences

This episode of Hope Floats delves into the behaviors exhibited by individuals with dementia in advanced and memory care settings. We discuss building new relationships with caregiving staff, managing care expectations, and learning about typical behaviors that come with joining a new environment- particularly focusing on dementia patients’ tendency to explore others' personal spaces and the implications this has for families. It highlights the importance of understanding these behaviors as a natural part of dementia rather than as malicious actions. It also covers steps you can take to care for yourself as a family member and caregiver during this transition.

Takeaways

• Moving to a higher care level involves changes for everyone.
• Families should be prepared for unexpected actions.
• Communication with staff can clarify these behaviors.
• Understanding these behaviors can help families cope better.
• Families may be surprised by their loved ones' behaviors.
• Memory care facilities often have shared spaces.
• Dementia can lead to confusion about ownership of items.
• Empathy is crucial in dealing with dementia-related behaviors.
• In this transition, family members who were the primary caregiver can also reclaim some of their time and social support, since the loved one now has other care.

Transcript

Rachel Coady (00:05)

Welcome to Hope Floats, a podcast for people who are navigating caregiving in dementia.  I’m Rachel Coady, a professional certified coach and the daughter of a person who had dementia.

Shoshawna Rainwater (00:17)

And I’m Shoshawna Rainwater, social worker and dementia consultant in Portland, Oregon, supporting caregivers who are caring for a person with dementia. I’m also the daughter of a person who is living with dementia.

Rachel Coady (00:29)

Hello, good to see you.

Shoshawna Rainwater (00:31)

Hi, it's good to see you. Good to be with you today.  We're talking today about the challenges that can come with adjustment to a care facility– when the person we've been caring for has moved into some type of care setting, and we're no longer in that role of trying to maintain them either in their home or in our home. And Rachel, we've done an episode or two on moving, gosh it feels like quite a while back.

Rachel Coady (01:08)

Mmm. There's a moving episode in the Hope Floats Library. But there's the moving and then there's the actual transition, right? Like really feeling the difference of that dynamic changing and getting the person settled in their new living arrangement and then adjusting ourselves to that new arrangement that I think is kind of what we want to unpack today.

Shoshawna Rainwater (01:26)

Yeah, and I think this had come up from a colleague of ours who asked a question about their own personal experience with their parent who is in a facility around what are reasonable expectations for me to have around staff proactively communicating changes in my person?  So that's part of what we wanted to touch on today because I think it's a great question and it's also a really common question.

Rachel Coady (01:53)

What are some of the parts that make this transition and this disease most challenging?

Shoshawna Rainwater (02:00)

So I think there's the perspective of what's challenging for the caregiver. And then we can also talk about the challenges for the person living with brain changes who's moved into a setting. So there's really two or more parties who are trying to adjust to a new life when a person moves into a facility.  And I think one of the most common challenges for family caregivers or for caregivers of people with dementia is a recognition of just how different the role is and how little control there is around the sort of day-to-day care delivery experience. We go from, perhaps, being quite involved and decisional about “mom, it's time for you to get up now and this is what we're having for breakfast. And this is what our day is going to look like.” And for a lot of people, there's a growing realization with placement that, “oh man, I'm not in charge in the same way I was before.” 

Rachel Coady (03:10)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, to be full-on like that and to feel that responsibility all the time and then to kind of hand that over or get support in another way and move from having that full-time supervision,   has to be a huge shift. 

Shoshawna Rainwater (03:28)

Yeah. And I think there can be some significant relief for families when a person moves, but only if you feel really confident that the care they're getting is the right kind of care.

Rachel Coady (03:42)

Yeah.

Shoshawna Rainwater (03:43)

And in most situations, there's going to be a period of adjustment where people feel very unmoored and very uncertain about whether or not this was the right move. And it can usually take the person living with dementia anywhere from two-to-  six weeks to adjust to start to feel like things are settling in. And that can feel like an excruciatingly long time.

Rachel Coady (04:12 )

I know we've talked about before when you move a loved one with dementia, there's so much disorientation that comes for all of us in moving. But in that scenario, it can really lead to confusion and agitation and it's just disorienting. And so, I think that probably adds to the emotions of that adjustment window and takes a lot of patience to settle in.

Shoshawna Rainwater (04:37)

Yeah, and trust, right, that over time, everybody's going to begin to settle a little bit because it's also going to take caregivers in these settings time to get to know the kind of unique nuances and idiosyncrasies, the  unique aspects of your person and to develop their own ways of responding that are going to be soothing for your person. So everybody is under a lot of adjustment when someone moves into a care facility.

So we can expect that people who are moving because they're experiencing significant brain changes and losses in function and abilities because of those brain changes, we can expect the experience is going to be very disorienting at first. I know I said this, I remember saying this in the moving episode; it's really kind of stunning how people do adjust to these significant changes. But to your point around the uptick that we can see, or the increase in things like agitation and upset, it is a lot for the brain of a person with dementia to try to make sense of all new things. So one of the recommendations for helping someone adjust to a new setting is to really try to replicate, as much as possible, features of their prior living situation. So that means familiar pictures that are si  tting out, familiar furniture, if at all possible, a familiar quilt or blanket, but as many reminders of previous living situations as possible. That can be helpful.

And at the same time, people are still having to adapt to all new ways of doing things, all new people around them, all new staff interactions, trying to navigate how to get down to a dining room, how to find a bathroom within their own settings. So  even if we try to make it look like home, it's still a tremendous cognitive task for your person to adjust to. And it is really normal for them to have significant disorientation.

Rachel Coady (07:02)

And on top of that, then we're immersing them in a world with new caregivers, new kinds of people around them that they don't know. And like you said, those people don't necessarily yet know our loved one. What are some things that you feel could be really helpful to setting up good dialogue between the person who's maybe been playing that caregiver role and setting the relationship up for success with the team or the person who will be the new caregivers?

Shoshawna Rainwater (07:29)

Yeah, I think maybe I'd like to start by pointing out the obvious, which is, you really need to be in collaboration with the caregivers in a facility. And it's not advantageous to be a family member that people do not want to engage with because it's highly unpleasant.  And so as best as you can, advocate in a way that is respectful of caregivers and kind. So kind, respectful interaction is really key. And knowing that caregivers who work in dementia care are also doing some of the most difficult work out there. And I think building our understanding of how difficult that role is, how hard it is to retain caregivers in that role is important for us as we go about advocating for the needs of our person. 

And so you want to be friendly, you want to be respectful, and you want to be kind to staff. And you can do that while also advocating for your person. For example, if you are feeling frustrated because mom has not received a shower for the second time that week, coming into your interaction with a caregiver with curiosity–trying to be curious, not furious–  even though you may be feeling really upset by what seems like care needs being overlooked or not attended to. 

Rachel Coady (09:17)

Yeah, it seems really considerate to just have the awareness to evaluate that environment and how complicated and demanding the care is for each individual that's there. And then to recognize that this is a group of caregivers who have chosen to do this work, who are doing, hopefully the best they can with the situation. And I love “be curious, not furious.” It's a change, it's a transition. So it's okay to have questions. It's okay to wonder.  You know, hopefully it's okay to have asked some of these questions before your loved one is there. So you have kind of an expectation set of what they believe their care looks like. But once you're there, I think you can just see the demands on these caregivers and try to work with them and not come at them. 

Shoshawna Rainwater (10:03)

I will say this is difficult for some people because of the really understandable frustration that comes from the sticker shock of how much we pay for this kind of care. So, for a person in mid-stage dementia in Oregon, we can expect we would be paying anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000 a month. And families translate that into feeling like, “then I want every single shower to happen. I want their clothes to be clean.” And those are really reasonable things to want. And, the reality in care settings is sometimes those things are not going to be attended to in the way that you want them to be. 

And the frustration often gets taken out on the frontline staff who are doing the hardest work, getting paid the least amount and are the most important glue holding it all together. And so your $10,000 to $12,000 is not necessarily going to caregivers who are making minimum wage and doing this work likely because they really deeply care about other human beings.

I think getting to know staff by name, making sure you know their name. Most of them are probably wearing name tags. That's one of the facility requirements for most of these places. But being able to know who they are can really matter to caregivers. And having what we call this “second tier curiosity” and information about what matters to them. So I don't mean violating any kind of like, you know, “tell me are you married and how many kids do you have?”   But if you know they have kiddos or they mention a kiddo, having that be a common touch point. For example, “Samantha, I know Halloween just passed, I'm curious, did your kiddos go out or what did they dress up as?” But really humanizing caregivers and connecting with them on a human level.

So getting to know caregivers on what we call that second tier, don't be invasive, but you can be curious about things that matter to them and then connect with them around those pieces, always expressing your gratitude and appreciation for the hard work that they're doing. And then giving grace, I think, for the hard days. Every human has hard days. 

Rachel Coady (12:24)

Yeah.

Shoshawna Rainwater (12:25)

In my mom's facility–and I don't know if this was true for you, Rachel, in your mom's facility–but the majority of carers are young women, and they're probably in their 20s, maybe in their 30s, and most of them have young children. So they're dealing with a lot, a lot of stressors.

Rachel Coady (12:42 )

What are some other things that you can do to kind of manage your own expectations in this transition? You know, your loved one is there, you're adjusting to new kind of care schedule, meeting new caretakers.  What are some other things that you can  expect in this time that will help you feel more successful as you go through this?

Shoshawna Rainwater (13:03)

I guess I'll just name, staff turnover,    both in direct caregiving staff, so the people who know your person most intimately, but also the staff managing these facilities. Executive directors, nurses, and resident care managers also turn over. We're coming up on the second year anniversary for my mom moving to memory care and we're on our fourth administrator. That many resident care managers and that many nurses. It makes it hard for continuity of care.

And one of the important tools that we have available to us as family members is that most facilities–and I'll speak specifically to Oregon, if you're listening outside of Oregon, you'll want to ask about or look into your own state's regulations around this–but most facilities have a requirement of a 90-day care plan review, which means they sit down as a staff team and they review the care plan for the resident. And what they're doing is evaluating whether or not they have enough support and help in place to help this person be as successful as they can be there. And those should involve family. I don't think they always do. I think sometimes they kind of get done because they're in big hurries. But one of the things we can do as family members is really proactively name and advocate. “I want to be part of the 90-day care plan review that I know your facility is responsible for doing. It's really important to me so that we can continue to work as a team to care for mom.” 

Rachel Coady (14:46)

Yeah, it feels like a general, like generally there's some expectations that you could set with or agree to hopefully with the facility before you're coming in. “We would love to attend the care meetings.”     I think another thing that we talked a little bit about is asking them when you're doing this transition, like, “what's the best way for me to get feedback or clarity on things that I want to know about?” They might have communication styles. They might have a reporting system. They might have a journal or something that they share with you. But it's OK, again, to be curious and ask questions and just try to name the things that are important to you that would help support you in this transition, as well as you think will help support your loved one.

Shoshawna Rainwater (15:32)

I think that's a great point, Rachel. And I also think communicating clearly that you are a family that really desires to have proactive communication and to repeat that at regular touch points with them and to say, “we're one of those families that is really eager for information about how our person is doing. Has anything happened in the last week that you think is different about mom?”  

Because you're not going to get a call for every single slight change or what they will experience as a slight change, right? And remember they're seeing probably at least 35 residents with changing needs day to day. We've talked so much in this podcast about how dementia fluctuates, skills and abilities fluctuate day to day. Staff would be on the phone with family constantly all day long if they were reporting every change. And so unfortunately, the onus I do think really lands on families to be proactive with reaching out to staff; again, in a respectful way. And staff are required to document changes in a communication log. So you can ask, “anything happened last night on night shift? Could you just take a quick glance? Mom seems a little bit off today.”

They are required to report things to you like falls and other significant issues like if somebody has to go out, obviously, and leaves by ambulance. You should be getting a call about that.

If you are a person who is allowed to receive information from the facility, you'll know that as you are signing your person into a facility, you should be listed as a person who gets these calls. So it has really, I think, a lot less to do with, “well, we don't want to violate HIPAA by calling and informing this family member.” I think it has more to do with overwhelm of the role and the significant day-to-day changes that we see in people with dementia and a lot of nuance gets overlooked or missed or just doesn't feel reportable to them.

Rachel Coady (17:33)

I think the other thing we just have to acknowledge is that these caregivers are working with audiences of people who all have brain changes going on. We normally have one person with brain changes going on. 

Shoshawna Rainwater (17:46)

Yes.

Rachel Coady (17:47)

So it can feel really dramatic to us when we see changes or when things slip, but they have the ability and the expertise to evaluate the significance of things in comparison to many, many people on this disease journey.  

Shoshawna Rainwater (18:00)

Yeah.

Rachel Coady (18:01)

And I do think that's a point that feels tender for families, but is a part of putting your loved one in an environment where there's expert caregivers that can help and support other than your kind of focus of one that you've had. So I think that’s likely a part of the adjustment. 

Music transition

Shoshawna Rainwater (18:30)

There's a recommendation in the book The Complete Family Guide to Dementia, which we've put in the show notes and I've mentioned before. But one of their, I think, really solid recommendations for placement is to find the best facility that you can find that is geographically close to you or a primary person who's going to be checking; because the secret ingredient for good monitoring of how your person is doing are frequent visits–so daily or at least a couple of times a week if that's possible, combined with a duration that is quite short.

So as dementia grows, people's sense of time fades and their threshold intolerance for a lot of long interaction also dissipates. So it's okay to come in and see somebody for 45 minutes to an hour. That's a good amount of time to lay eyes on someone, to check in on them, kind of monitor if they're close to their baseline, see if they're wearing the clothes from yesterday, those kinds of pieces. And, that's much better than doing a weekly visit for four hours. It would be better to do a couple of times a week for 45 minutes to an hour, if that's possible. That's not possible in many situations for people, but that would be sort of the ideal formula. 

And then bringing to the interaction with your person, an energy of being unhurried. So going in, even if you're feeling hurried, even if you're feeling rushed, even if you've got a million things on your plate, to take deep breaths and try to be present with your person for that 45 minutes and convey to them, “no place else to go,” you're delighted to be with them, you're delighted to see them. That can help a visit go well.

We talk about those centering practices. Rachel, I feel like you're so good at this and maybe you could speak to kind of what you did when you would visit your mom.  But these centering practices that we can do sort of pre-visit and then I think also just as importantly, maybe post-visit to kind of shake it off. 

Rachel Coady (20:52)

You know, they're really simple. It's the deep breathing or it's sitting or doing a 15-minute meditation on YouTube. Just kind of affirming for yourself that you're in the middle of doing your best and they are, too. I think accessing gratitude can be a really helpful thing. You know, “I'm really grateful that dad is in a safe place and there are people here that can take care of him. I'm grateful that I got to spend time with him today. I'm grateful that I get to go home now and have some rest.” 

Acknowledge the person, acknowledge the situation, acknowledge yourself. Those kinds of things are a great way to center yourself before and after visits, and I  think put some relief into your nervous system, and just find a little peace around, which is, of course, a very uncomfortable and significant transition.

Shoshawna Rainwater (21:38)

Yeah.

Rachel Coady (21:39)

I often would just kind of be grateful, practice gratitude at the other side of it also. Maybe listening to calming music, you know, go home, do some of the things on your self-care list that we've talked about in previous episodes, like take care of you because it's emotionally hard to do this transition and to see your loved one transitioning into this environment, too. A lot of self-care is really important.

Shoshawna Rainwater (22:04)

There's a couple kind of interesting things that can come with placement that I don't know get talked about as much, but I think they're pretty common stuck places. So the first thing that is really common when your person moves into a facility is that they're moving into an environment where say 30+  other people don't have a really great understanding or sense of physical boundary, meaning where their belongings and their stuff starts and where it ends. And it's really common for people in facilities to do what historically we've called “wandering,” a wandering behavior, which I think is kind of less in favor as a term these days because “wandering” sounds kind of aimless. And there's been a lot of research about wandering that actually gives people with dementia a little bit more credit about what they're trying to achieve. 

But what we kind of now think about as like “active exploration,”  humans are very active explorers of their own environments. That's a very common human thing to do. And that doesn't change in dementia, but what changes is the understanding of like, “that's not my room. I shouldn't go in there.” And a lot of rooms remain unlocked because residents can't manage keys and they have a difficult time remembering to lock their own door if it even has a lock feature on it. So in memory care, it's really common for people with dementia to go into other people's rooms and do what we call kind of in quotes “shopping” …

Rachel Coady (23:44)

Hmm.

Shoshawna Rainwater (23:45)

…or looking for other items or putting on clothes that are not theirs with very little understanding that that's not their stuff.  And that can surprise families because what it usually means is that somebody in that facility is probably also exploring your own person's physical space. There's probably somebody who's been in there going through their items and trying on their clothes, walking out with their clothes. Not because they are inclined to steal…

Rachel Coady (24:14)

Sure.

Shoshawna Rainwater (24:15)

… but because there's probably a lack of understanding like “these aren't my things,” or they see something and they want it.

Rachel Coady (24:21)

Yeah.  When you're doing this transition and moving into a memory care facility, what are some common requests or actions families take to kind of consider that that exploration might go on in this new community?

Shoshawna Rainwater (24:36)

Yeah, so it goes on in every single facility that I've ever encountered. This is a big, and I don’t want to even call it a problem, it's just a very common issue. And so it's really hard to prevent it. Staff try, and they try to redirect people that they see going into other people's rooms. I had somebody explain it this way once, which is in your own home, do you have rooms that you are restricted from going into?  And for most of us, the answer is “no.” If we own our own home, I get free reign over every room in this house. And I don't have to, well, maybe not my 14-year-olds, but people don't tell you to stay out of certain rooms. So in a sense, it's a sign that people are actually feeling more comfortable that “this place that I live now is home,” which I thought was kind of an interesting way to look at that. That we, it's a sign of adjustment essentially is that people explore their environment. They don’t…

Rachel Coady (25:36)

They're getting comfortable. 

Shoshawna Rainwater (25:38)

Yeah, they don't adhere to restrictions to not go in that room. So it's going to happen most likely. And there are things that we can do. Most facilities will tell you, your person as they move in, they need to have every item that they own labeled. And there are professional labels that you can order online that I don't know what kind of glue this is, but they really do adhere to every item and can like endure lots and lots of washes.

And so, label everything and at the same time, know that you don't want to move anything precious or irreplaceable with your person to memory care because it very well could go missing or it could go temporarily missing. And there can be a lot of distress if the item is of value or, inherited by, you know, a great grandmother or things like that.

The other thing that I know you and I both wanted to make sure we named in today's episode about things that can be a big adjustment when our person moves to a facility is the really common experience of people with dementia seeking intimate partnership with other residents. And one of the questions that families can ask during the screening process when they're considering having their person move into this particular facility, is to ask the question, “how do you handle, how do you address issues of intimacy between residents?” And if the answer you get back is “we don't have that problem here,” I think that's a bit of a flag because people living with dementia are just like the rest of us, physical human beings and we crave intimacy with other people. And this happens in many, many situations and it can be very disturbing for those families who aren't expecting that. But also if there is still…

Rachel Coady  (27:49)

A living partner.

Shoshawna Rainwater (27:51)

Yeah, if there's a current life partner, a spouse who is   experiencing dementia and has not moved into the facility. 

Rachel Coady (27:58)

Yeah.

Shoshawna Rainwater (27:59)

And it gets real dicey and real uncomfortable for people because it has a lot to do with consent…

Rachel Coady (28:08)

Yeah, sure.

Shoshawna Rainwater (28:09)

…which is a really difficult thing to gauge in people living with brain changes. And oftentimes what we're looking for is do both people, do both parties involved seem to be participating in this of their own free will? and do they seem distressed by it? And if the answer is no, then some facilities have requirements that “we don't try to stop people from having these intimate relationships if both parties seem to be sort of on equal or similar cognitive footing. And it seems mutually enjoyable. And to the best of their ability, they're both in agreement doing this. 

And you can only imagine the multiple different kinds of scenarios that can make this a really complex thing. It can be a really big deal. But I also think it's, I want us to be realistic that it can be, it's very normal for human beings to seek out physical and emotional intimacy with others; that doesn't change just because our brains are changing because of dementia.

Rachel Coady (29:21)

Yeah, and I think it's one of those areas, you know, if that does happen with a loved one or that happens with a spouse or life partner that you're with, this is a good time if, you're not already working with someone professionally, like there are people who you can unpack this with and and process it with and help families with therapy do this. So, I think it's a good time to find the support you need if you start to see changes like this that are really surprising, but are much more a symptom of the disease journey than the person.

Music transition

Rachel Coady (29:58)

So one of the things that helped us when our care team changed for our mom is that we tried to facilitate ways for them to get to know her when we weren't going to be there. And I think you actually helped us understand some of the easier things we could do that would help build that bridge. You know the things they like, you know the things that kind of help soothe them. And there's an opportunity to make what you could call a one-page summary or a quick welcome note about my loved one, where you could share things like their preferred name, maybe a photo of them, some information and context about who they are as a person and what makes them excited. So maybe it's some things about their background or their career when they were still working, hobbies, values of theirs that are important. You might mention on there like some of their favorite foods or music, things that they enjoy. 

You could also share maybe on there some hints or tips about routines. So like, “oh, my mom really likes her tea in the morning,” or “my dad's favorite thing is to watch birds in the afternoon after he wakes up.” Little things that can just help them understand how to make the transition more smooth because they don't have all the history and the relationship that you have with this person. 

Equally, it can be really helpful to let them know some things that trigger or bother your loved one so that they're able to look out for those to the extent that they can and try to support your person if things like that come up. So, letting them know about any kind of challenging moments or hardship or even abilities–if your loved one is really hard of hearing or has impaired vision, just making sure that everyone that's walking in and out of that room or is getting to interact with them gets kind of quick access to that information. 

It's a nice way to honor the person and to try to make it easier for the caregivers to connect and have successful work with your loved one.

Shoshawna Rainwater (31:53)

I really like that idea of keeping it sort of fresh and available to caregivers because we talked today about the inevitability of staff turnover. And I know that for my mom when she was moving into her memory care unit they asked a lot of those questions, but I don't think the answers to those questions live anywhere in the conscience of the current set of caregivers. That was three or four residential care managers ago, four administrators ago, probably 80% of the staff ago. 

So I love that idea of keeping it available and current for whoever is doing this really important and hard day-to-day care. It actually makes their jobs easier, too, when they have these places. I mean, we're doing it largely because we believe in the inherent value and dignity of our person, right? And we want other people to see those pieces of them. This is a full human being, right? 

Rachel Coady (32:52)

Yeah.

Shoshawna Rainwater (32:53)

… who's lived a full life, but also, what you're doing here, Rachel, is really smart because you're actually easing the way of caregivers. You’re making their jobs easier when you help them understand what soothes your person and what activates or stresses them.  

Rachel Coady (33:06)

It feels just like a win-win. You want to have smooth, seamless caregiving. And I think it can be helpful when you're realizing and preparing for the fact that you're not going to be the one that gets to give the care and do all the rituals all the time. It's helpful to set them up for success so that hopefully those things that support your person are known and easily accessible. 

Shoshawna Rainwater (33:26)

Yeah.

Rachel Coady (33:27)

It's a hard transition. It's a really big change and it normally does involve some period of time that's pretty uncomfortable. So I think anything that you can do to support yourself, to support your loved one, and to support the caregivers in this process is going to be worth it. 

I just want to end with a note that I think listeners need to hear–I needed to hear–which is transitioning care and getting more help is not an end. It's a step. It's a shift in how you get to love and support and care for your person. And I think families that can learn to collaborate and communicate and really let professionals help share the load can often find a better relationship. You can find some peace. You can find connection in a new way with your loved one. So,  just to understand that the love doesn't stop just because you're not the primary caregiver anymore, that this is actually a good thing for you and your loved one. 

And in this journey, in this transition, it's important to celebrate the small successes. So when you have a successful visit, when you see some smiles, when you get a good report, when you know that your loved one is successfully sleeping and set up there, every one of those adjustments matters. And they're worth celebrating and acknowledging that you got them to this place and that they're having a successful time there. 

And then just continue to evolve and look at how the care is going. You can continue to pay attention and ask questions and stay curious. And also, like you said, really affirm and show gratitude for the care that they're receiving and for the teams that are working with your loved one. 

And then I think the other piece of this is that your own relationship with being a caregiver and loving this person might feel different because they're not with you 24/7. But this can be a time where you can actually open up your memory to life before the caregiving role and remember things like great memories that you shared, um, stories that they loved, you know, look back through pictures; gather things that give you comfort about this whole person's life and not just the disease journey. Because I think as frontline caregivers, when we're doing all this work and we're kind of stressed and supporting them so hard, we can lose track of the whole person and our whole relationship with them. And this is a beautiful window to be able to regain some of that and to comfort yourself on the job you did. 

So, it's a really big decision and a big move and it doesn't mean that the love and support for your person is no longer there.

Shoshawna Rainwater (36:07)

Yeah, beautifully said. It looks different, the care day today looks different and it's no, your role is no less important. 

Rachel Coady (36:14)

That's right. 

Shoshawna Rainwater (36:16)

Today we talked about adjusting to a new care setting for both the person living with brain changes, but also for us as caregivers. We talked about some ways to set ourselves up for success, help set the staff up for success, and also help our person with dementia be successful. We're going to be back soon with another episode of Hope Floats.  And until then, take care and thank you for all that you're doing.

Rachel Coady  (36:50)

You can always reach out to us here at Hope Floats with your questions or with topics you'd like us to discuss on the podcast. We're here if you want to share your experiences, and let us know what could help you navigate this journey. We want to support you.

Shoshawna Rainwater  (37:05)

You’ll find us at our website hopefloatspodcast.com.  When you’re there, you can learn more about how to work individually with Rachel or Shoshawna for support with your specific circumstances or situation. That’s also where we’ll share more tools, resources, and libraries that can help people on this journey.

Rachel Coady  (37:22)

Never miss an episode of Hope Floats by following us wherever you listen to your podcasts and join our community at hopefloatspodcast.com.