One of the challenges that you face as a caregiver is determining how much and what kinds of help your senior might need. This list can help.
Support
Does your senior live far away from everyone else in the family? That happens more often than it did in the past and it can be a complicated situation when your senior’s situation starts to change. You may find that you’re now a long-distance caregiver, with support people helping as they’re able.
Safety
How safe is your senior’s home? Does she have maintenance issues in the home itself? It’s important to take a closer look at how well your elderly family member’s environment supports her. If she’s determined to age in place, it’s even more crucial to make sure that her home is going to be up to meeting that goal.
Mental and Physical Health
Physical and mental health issues directly impact your senior’s quality of life and her goals, especially if she’s planning to age in place. How mobile is your senior? Is she able to keep up with the demands of any of the health issues that she has? Developing a relationship with your senior’s doctor can help you to get a full understanding of what she’s facing in the near and distant future.
Personal Care
Something else you need to start paying closer attention to is how well your senior is handling personal care tasks. These are tasks like getting dressed, taking a shower, and taking care of her teeth. If your elderly family member is having more difficulty with these tasks, there’s likely a reason and she can get help managing whatever is giving her trouble.
Mobility
It’s also important to look at how mobile your senior is. This covers a lot of different areas. There’s mobility in terms of whether she’s still driving or not, which is one issue, and then there’s personal mobility. Is she able to get up from a seated position easily? Is she having trouble walking? These are issues that need to be addressed.
Socialization
Loneliness and isolation are huge problems for older adults. So many other situations can cause both isolation and loneliness, so it’s important to assess how well your senior is socializing with others. If she’s become more withdrawn than usual, you need to find out what’s behind that.
Once you have assessed these areas, it’s time to make sure you can cover your senior’s needs. One way to do that more easily is to bring in help for both of you. Home care providers can help you to solve these issues and many others.
If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring home care in Palo Alto, CA, please contact the caring staff at Home Helpers today (408) 317-4969.
