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Best Ways to Take Care of Senior Loved Ones Who Live Far Away
As a long-distance caregiver, it can be challenging to make sure your senior loved one is happy and healthy at all times. If you want to ensure they’re well taken care of, it’s important to identify their needs and use a few good tools and tips, like the ones below:
Establish Key Responsibilities
Taking care of a senior loved one is a huge responsibility, so it’s best that family members take on different tasks so everything doesn’t fall on one person’s shoulders. As the primary caregiver, you’ll have to handle every single aspect of your senior loved one’s life. Depending on their level of independence, this can include planning their health check-ups, ensuring their prescriptions are refilled at all times and managing their finances. When you’re finished tallying all the things that will need to be addressed, it will be easy to see why you’ll need assistance. According to the National Institute on Aging, it’s recommended that you have a meeting with other family members to divvy up the duties. You can assign people tasks based on their strengths as well as their limitations.
Get a Local Support Team
Even with the help of your family members, there are some things you might not be able to accomplish from a distance. That’s why you need to reach out to other people in your loved one’s community. If they attend a church, it’s good to ask someone to check in on them from time to time. There may even be a program that will assist with doctor’s visits and senior-friendly social activities. If you want to ensure that your loved one is getting the nutrition they need, then Senior Living suggests taking advantage of some great senior food delivery services. Some of these are associated with local restaurants or food programs. For a consistently clean home, consider hiring a local cleaning service.
Use Technological Aids
When you’re taking care of someone far away, the right technological aids can be just what you need. They can make your loved one’s daily lives more manageable and give you a steady communication channel. According to Hobbr, you can also take advantage of devices that monitor your loved one’s movements, remind them to take their medications and alert you if there’s a medical emergency. You should also consider getting them a senior-friendly phone or tablet. These devices are specially designed to have larger screens and features that are easy to use. Your loved one would even be able to take it with them so you don’t miss information from a doctor’s visit. If you’re on a budget, you can find quite a few deals on the latest models.
Visit Them Regularly
Nothing can take the place of a good old-fashioned visit, so make sure to schedule those on a regular basis. If you notice changes in how your loved one is managing daily tasks or how they communicate, it may be a sign that you should visit more quickly than you planned. When you visit, be sure to talk to neighbors to get an idea of what your loved one’s daily life is like. You should also pay attention to any signs that indicate your loved one needs more hands-on assistance. This could be in the form of an in-house caregiver or transfer to an assisted living facility. To make the choice between the two, it’s important to look at the pros and cons of each one. For example, while in-house care is more personalized, it can also become quite expensive.
It’s not easy to make sure your senior loved one is in the best health when you’re doing it from a distance. Caring for your loved one successfully means getting help wherever possible and using technology as an integral wellness tool. Be sure to check on your loved one regularly so you can better assess their needs.
