Life Care Planning

The Life Care Plan is a tool used for the purpose of estimating medical and non-medical needs of the person with a catastrophic injury.  The Life Care Plan addresses and projects the costs and frequency of needed goods and services over an estimated life span. It will project the needed equipment, replacement schedules, and maintenance. Equipment maintenance will vary with individual interests and use of equipment.

The intention is to address the client as a whole using a team approach. A Life Care Plan is developed based on a non-bias assessment.  It is an estimate of needs using a collaborative approach of various Health Care Providers and their opinions. It should follow the nursing process and is based on the nursing assessment. The assessment is based on collecting subjective and objective data from observations, examinations, interviews, and written records. 

The data may include growth and development, culture and religion, family health history, information collected by other health team members, ability to perform daily activities, environmental factors, personal factors and patterns of coping and interacting. The Life Care Plan is based on the assessment of the health status, established goals, and planning care as defined in the Nurse Practice Act. It is intended to follow the client throughout the lifetime to ensure funds will be available to properly care for the client.