Visit potential placement facilities. Be informed this is not a decision that can be made quickly without research and information. As caregivers, it is important to realize that placing a loved one involves the stages of grief that so often accompany a loss. You may not be losing your loved one to death, but you are losing your loved one to a different level of care, to a different place, to a different hands-on caregiver. Initially, many feel shock and denial, which can often lead to anger and bargaining.
Depression typically follows with accompanying sadness.
Full acceptance may never come, but the goal is to be able to live with your decision and go on with living. It is important to remember that there exists a right place for the right person at the right time. Not one other person can or will provide the same care as you, but the fact is that your loved one may need something more, or something different at this stage of living. But also, placement of a loved one does not mean that the caregiver s job is over. The daily, around the clock demands of caregiving may be resigned, but the patient is going to need your support emotionally and psychologically as never before.