If your elderly mom or dad were to need senior care today, would they be prepared? Would you be?
The answer for most people would be, “no.” Unfortunately, most people do not spend a lot of time thinking about senior care until they absolutely need to. The end result of this is that there is a higher chance that your loved one will not get the best care that they could be getting. Preparedness is one of the best ways to make sure that your family gets the most appropriate and most pleasing type of care, by the best caregivers available.
So, what can you do right now to fix that? Start a simple web search, if you have a few minutes. Type in your city’s name, followed by “senior care.” This will bring up a short list of businesses in your area and nearby that specialize in helping you to make sure that your elderly family members are safe. From there, you can break it down into the different types of care that are out there. If your mom or dad is pretty healthy, start with in-home care or assisted living. You can also look at nursing homes, or hospice care, if your loved one has a terminal illness.
Maybe you don’t really want to go with senior care at all. This is understandable, actually. A lot of families want to provide care on their own and not go the route of having a professional help them. This is admirable, but please be aware of caregiver burnout. It can happen with professionals, but it is far more common in family caregivers. It happens when there is no stress relief. Helping out a family member is a neverending task, and the enormity can eventually overwhelm you. Even if you love your parent unconditionally, being with them and helping them all the time is not easy. It becomes even more difficult on you when you watch their health slowly decline. In these instances, having a respite caregiver lined up will act as a pressure valve when it comes to relieving this burden. Plan this out well ahead of time, and the search process disappears when tensions reach their height. It’s an easy way to help yourself provide better care later on, too, and the sooner you do it, the sooner you can stop worrying about it.
The common theme among many senior care blogs is the necessity of being prepared. It’s repeated so many times because it’s so important. The more prepared you are before you need to think and act quickly, the better the overall level care that your mom or dad will receive will be. Just be familiar with what is available where you live, and make sure that it matches up well with what your loved one actually needs. This way, the basics are covered well before it’s time to make a quick decision and the dangers and stress of moving them around later is avoided before it becomes a consideration.
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