Your family is talking about the pros and cons of elder care services. While elder care is beneficial at helping older adults live independently, it’s also beneficial to overwhelmed adult children.
Before you make any arrangements, ask these three questions. Everyone needs to consider their role in their parents’ care plan.
Can You Handle Any of the Care That’s Needed?
Elder Care Claremont, CA: Arranging Elder Care Services
What kinds of care do your parents need right now? How about in the future? Even with the best of intentions, caring for older parents can be difficult. Stress is one aspect, but some kinds of care may be harder for you to manage than others.
If your dad can’t walk well and relies on a walker, do you have the strength to help him get out of bed? If you have a bad back, lifting him in and out of the shower may not be possible.
Your mom’s need for constant supervision may be difficult if you also work from home. If you work from 7 to 3 and she has medications she must take at 9, you won’t be there to remind her and can’t check her mouth to verify she’s taken her pills.
Who Can Help Out?
Jot down a list of the things your parents need help to do each week. Look them over and put your name next to anything you have time to help with. Have your brothers and/or sisters do the same. Where are the gaps? Those gaps are where you need to consider having professional elder care aides.
Is Their House Still Functional for Them?
One-level living is often easier when joint pain sets in. If your parents have a hard time climbing the stairs, a one-level floor plan is ideal. Is it practical in their home?
If their home is set up on multiple levels, they may need to be able to climb up and down the stairs. In a small cape, they may have bedrooms on the top floor and the bathroom downstairs. At night, they’d have to walk downstairs to use the toilet. That can be a problem.
Home improvements may become necessary. You might need to turn the den into a new master bedroom. The goal is to have a bathroom, a living area, kitchen, and bedroom on one floor. If that’s not possible, a stairlift may need to be installed if mobility declines.
To arrange elder care services, pick up the phone. Give a specialist a call and answer a few questions. You’ll learn about pricing and services during this call.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Elder Care Claremont, CA please contact the caring staff at Motherly Comfort Home Care, LLC today at (909) 610-3222.