What have you been doing lately to help improve the care of your elderly loved one? Ensuring that your mom or dad is always having their needs met and surpassed is an ongoing process, and finding little things that can be improved upon here and there will always be possible. This becomes even more the case when they find themselves with a worsening physical or mental condition. You may even find that you need to find a whole new type of care for them just to keep them safe. This is normal and it is a part of the aging process. That doesn’t mean that you can be relaxed about it, though. Always being aware of what your family member’s needs are and then making sure that they are all being provided for is a huge part of being the responsible family member.
When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter how the needs are met as long as they are and that your loved one is as happy as possible. For example, someone with some slight issues getting around the house needs help with mobility, transportation, and maybe transfers from a chair to a wheelchair. This is not something that they need to go to a nursing home for, although that would meet this need. And because they might become unhappy in a nursing home, this is probably not the best solution. A family caregiver would suffice, as would an in-home caregiver, or assisted living. These help maintain independence, meet basic and advanced needs, and enhance happiness.
In short, caregiving is a process that never ends. Getting a caregiver for your mom today isn’t the last step in the puzzle. Yes, it’s a big step, an important and potentially life saving one, but it doesn’t mean that your work is now done. Now begins a long period of monitoring and making tiny changes if necessary as you go. If you do your research and your mom stays in good health, the in-home care should be more than adequate for several years. But, not always. You may find yourself needing to make adjustments. There might be one or two little things that they are having issues with that their caregiver cannot provide and maybe it’s time for more care.
Or, maybe the type of care is correct, but the person providing the care isn’t a good match. In a situation like this, it benefits you to go with a service rather than an independent caregiver as the service will have more than one employee and will easily make adjustments without hassles on your end of things. Otherwise, you may find yourself starting the care search process over. This doesn’t have to happen. Spend some time looking things up, finding the best style and type of care, and then have your loved one meet with the people that will be helping before any final decision is made. This should be an easy way to smooth over the tough transitions that could possibly occur otherwise.
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