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Years ago families were expected to care for their aging relatives, but times have changed. Nowadays people are living longer and, in many cases, requiring more care due to chronic health conditions. So not only is the degree of care for elderly patients more involved but the number of years of care has extended. That is why I believe elderly patients should be cared for by health care professionals.

Working as director of an Alzheimer's daycare center, I've counseled many family caregivers. Many of those family members were physically exhausted, emotionally drained and dealing with guilt feelings because they couldn't "do it all" for their loved one. Oftentimes this physical and emotional stress would lead to the family caregiver's own ill health or, even worse, feelings of resentment for the one being cared for.

Health care professionals, on the other hand, do not deal with these personal feelings nor emotional attachments. They are specifically trained to care for the elderly patient's physical needs.

Ideally, caring for an elderly patient should take the three-prong approach - the patient, the professional, and the family member - all working together as a team to ensure that the elderly patient is getting the best possible physical care and loving emotional support.

Learn more about this author, Pat Sobleskie.
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