In the past most care plans for people as they age came from the medical field or institution with little input from the individual concerned. While the individual may have been consulted about surgery, medications, and living situations, the ultimate decisions were left to those "in charge" of care. So maybe Grandma had chemotherapy at 95 when she really would have preferred some peace. Perhaps Great Uncle John had a hip replacement when he was completely content to use his walker and wheelchair as the thought of surgery and recovery filled him with fear.
The choices made by others are most often well-meaning, but do they truly reflect well-being? Some doctors recommend and perform surgery not based so much on what is best for the patient but rather what makes sense to them as a surgeon. After all, surgery is what they do. I am not dissing on doctors, but rather stating a reality that I have recently confronted. Doctors do what they do: prescribe and perform surgery.
And it is not just doctors. Long-term care facilities do what they do: care for clients in an institutionalized setting. While customized care is always the best in suitability, care facilities often are under-staffed and over-stressed and thus fail to meet all of an individual's needs. Instead of allowing Grandpa to sleep until 10am after a long night of wandering, it is simply easier and often safer to send him the bed at 8pm so he can be dragged from sleep at 6am when showers preface breakfast.
But what if we changed our thinking and adjusted care? What if we made a paradigm shift from "one-size-fits-all" to streamlined, person-centered care? Are we up to the challenge? I believe that we are.
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