If your aging parent requires professional assistance, contact Voyager Home Health Care to discuss the different care options available. (719)-401-5654.
Caring For an Elderly Parent: A Checklist of Things to Consider
As a parent becomes older and requires more help, you will often face many uncertainties as you try to navigate this new situation. This can include understanding the different care options available, learning what needs your parent has, and helping them make decisions.
For those unsure what to do, this can seem immensely overwhelming. To help, we have created a checklist of things to consider for guidance on what areas to address.
Evaluate Their Needs
Many aspects of someone’s life ensure they are happy and well-taken care of, but it can be overwhelming to try and assess all these needs at once.
To help, try breaking it into some key areas, such as:
- medical needs
- home safety (e.g., mobility)
- daily assistance (e.g., personal hygiene, meal preparation)
- social interaction
- cognitive health
Going through a parent’s needs for each area can help you determine where they realistically need help.
Determine Who Will Help
Once you know the areas where your loved one needs help, it is crucial to determine who will provide the assistance.
For example, are you capable and willing to spend your time caring for your parent, or do you have to work and cannot take on the time commitment? Providing care for an aging parent is a significant responsibility many people may underestimate, so it is an important consideration to make.
When family caregivers are not an option, alternatives include hired caregivers or homemakers, depending on the areas in need of help.
For elderly parents needing medical help, an RN or CNA is another option that can bring exceptional medical care directly to your loved one’s house.
Evaluate Home Safety
For parents who want to remain in their homes, it is important to complete a few fixes to help increase their safety and reduce the risk of injuries.
This can include:
- adding grab bars or shower seats in the bathroom
- moving items from hard-to-reach shelves
- removing area rugs or placing non-skid mats underneath and securing corners
Make Communication Accessible
Many people consider only the physical needs a loved one may need help with when getting older, ignoring the harm that isolation and loneliness can cause to someone’s mental health.
To help, ensure your parent’s phone is easily accessible and easy to use so they can easily keep in touch with their family and friends.
Communication is also essential when they are in a medical emergency, and they need to be able to quickly call for help.
Involve Your Parent
One of the most important things you can do as you begin caring for a parent is to involve them in the process. This ensures that your parent still feels engaged in their care and allows them to maintain some control in their life.
Elderly parents may resist change, so it is important to be patient and consistent in bringing up the need for more care. It also helps to gradually increase the amount of help they receive instead of springing on a large amount of assistance at once.
Easing the Transition to Elderly Home Care
As parents age, it can be hard to determine when they need help, and sometimes even more challenging to get them to agree to the help. By following the above checklist, you can gauge the areas your loved one needs help and gradually increase assistance to make the whole process easier for you and your aging parent.
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