How to Effectively Care For Your Senior When You’re Far Away

It’s challenging to be far away from an aging parent, but this distance doesn’t mean that their level of care needs to suffer as a result. In fact, many families help to provide highly effective care for the people they love, even when they are in other parts of the country. If you’re dealing with a long-distance care giving situation, keep these tips in mind:

Rely on siblings, family members, or friends

It’s common for family members who are far away to feel guilt about the distance. However, understand that this guilt is not productive. Instead, use your resources. Can you ask other family members in the area to check in on your senior? Can you use your siblings for assistance? There is no shame in asking for help. Your elderly loved one’s well-being should remain the top priority.

Plan some time

If you’re worried about assessing your senior’s living situation for yourself, then block off a solid chunk of time to do so. You’ll need at least a few days to truly understand how they live and where they could use some help. When you go to spend some time with them, consider the following points:

• Is their home free of clutter that could cause them to trip? Are rugs secured and are all cords tucked away?
• Is their home well lit? 
• Do they have additional support in the bathroom, such as grip bars or other tools to help with balance?
• Is their pantry well stocked? Has the food in the refrigerator gone bad? Do they have small snacks available in between meals? 
• Is their medication well organized? Are they taking it according to schedule?

According to professionals who work in home care, Iowa families can assess these important elements of everyday life in order to understand how their senior is doing and what kind of help they may need. Even if you are not able to stay to provide this care long term, you can put an eldercare services professional in place who is able to handle this important task. 

Just because you’re not physically close to your senior, doesn’t mean that their level of care has to suffer. By working with an in-home care provider, Iowa families can help their loved ones to enjoy a safe and happy life in their home. 

Top Tech Tools That Allow Your Senior to Age in Place

Technology is making it easier than ever for your senior to stay right where they are as they continue to age. Thanks to these gadgets they can continue to enjoy the comfort of their own home while you can feel content knowing that they are safe. When it comes to in-home care, Iowa families can get peace of mind using these tools. Some of the items that you should know about today include:

StoryWorth

This beautiful device brings family members together for fun and a deeper understanding of family history. Using this tool, family members get to learn about one another, while discovering how they interact as a unit. In fact, StoryWorth enables you to invite up to six family members to write their own stories using e-mail, their website, or by recording audio and uploading pictures. Piece these stories together to get an accurate look at what that family is really about. 

WalkJoy

If you’re nervous about your senior as they move around their home, eldercare services professionals say that this is the tool for you. This platform addresses fall risks, including unhealthy walking conditions and other potentially dangerous situations. Fix these issues before they become a major problem. 

The Prevent program

This program uses clinical research to offer digital tracking tools, coaching, support, and other programs needed to help stop diabetes. The tool can coach your senior toward better health, allowing them to ward off diabetes and the host of other problems that often go with it. 

CareSolver

Caring for an elderly loved one can be a challenge, and CareSolver’s Care Plan Library can be a powerful resource. This reference tool offers details about financial matters and legal issues, and also highlights some other key free resources that a caregiver might need.

CareAtHand

When you or a residential care professional see your elderly loved one on a daily basis, it can be hard to get a real sense of how that person’s health is holding up. This tool relies on predictive algorithms to accurately track the health of that patient. It makes it easier to spot when this person’s health is worsening, allowing for appropriate adjustments in medical care as a result. When it comes to handling care for elderly family members, use technology to make the process easier and safer for everyone involved.

How to Prepare for an Emergency Involving Your Senior

While no one wants to think about a medical emergency involving their senior, it’s important to plan for these unexpected situations so that relatives can provide help quickly. Follow these steps for preparing for a medical emergency involving an elderly individual:

Create a schedule to check on the senior

According to those who work in senior care, Iowa families can resolve emergency situations effectively when they get their senior medical attention quickly. However, long-term complications kick in when no one realizes that the senior is having a problem until hours or days later.

To prevent this from happening, create a schedule of individuals who will check on that senior. This can include eldercare professionals, neighbors, relatives, and friends. When it comes to elder care, Cedar Rapids families should develop a network of people who are willing to look out for that senior. When the elderly person has regular visitors, it helps to put a stop to a medical crisis before it is allowed to progress too far.

Get keys to the home

In order to allow caregivers to provide quick assistance, they must have keys to the senior’s home or apartment. They should know any gate codes, and should be able to get into the home quickly in the event that an emergency occurs.

Communicate regularly

If your senior lives alone, they should communicate with you regularly. Those who care for elderly people should consider setting up a regular time to talk with their elderly loved one on the phone. This way, if that phone call does not occur, the person knows to check on the senior to verify that they’re okay.

Know how to locate important documents

In case of a medical emergency, you’ll want to know how to locate important documents that your senior may need as they head to the hospital. This could include lists of medications that the elderly individual is taking, insurance information, and names and contact information for doctors. Know where this information is stored, or keep a copy on hand in your residence in order to be able to retrieve it quickly.

If you’re the primary caregiver for your senior, make it a point to put a plan in place should you have to go out of town or be unavailable for the day. Your elderly loved one should always have someone checking up on them and available to assist.

Fun and Festive Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Your Senior

There are plenty of different ways to get your senior into the spirit of Valentine’s Day, regardless of their physical ability level. Spending some time together makes the day a heartwarming one for your elderly loved one. According to those who work in in-home care, Iowa families can get their loved ones into the spirit of the day without having to spend large amounts of money. Spread the love and cheer associated with the holiday by partaking in one or more of the following festive and fun activities:

Bake cookies

Take some time to make heart-shaped sugar cookies together. Use cookie cutters to craft the treats into the desired shape. Once they’re done, get out the red and pink frosting, sprinkles, and other decorative elements and get working. Your senior will love this creative and tasty project. 

Host a get-together on the day itself

Enjoy time with friends and loved ones on this special holiday by putting together a Valentine’s Day tea party. Serve your heart-shaped cookies and a selection of teas. You may also consider offering “finger foods,” like small sandwiches or a cheese plate. Your senior will delight in getting to spend time with the people they love the most.

Create treat bags for school children

Delight all of the students in a grandchild’s classroom by assembling Valentine’s Day treat bags. This can include healthy snacks, notes, pencils, candy, and other selections. Package them up in a festive bag with ribbon and send them off to the students. Depending on your elderly loved one’s ability level, you may even consider bringing them to hand deliver the treats. This allows them to see the joy on the kids’ faces upon receiving their surprise. Elder care services professionals explain that doing something nice for others provides a powerful surge of feel-good emotions for your senior.

According to those who work in elder care, Cedar Rapids families can also spend some time going through old pictures with their seniors on Valentine’s Day. They’ll get to reminisce about the love and positive memories they’ve experienced over the years. This can help to make the holiday special for your elderly loved one.

Should You Choose Home Care or Assisted Living?

As your elderly loved one ages, they may find that they’re unable to accomplish the tasks necessary to care for themselves and their home. There are several different ways to ensure that your senior is getting the assistance they need in order to live a happier life. 

Assisted living versus home care

According to those who work in assisted living, Iowa families should understand that this option is beneficial for seniors who are able to attend to some of the tasks of daily living, but not all. Perhaps your elderly loved one still enjoys socializing with friends and reading a good book, but struggles to do major grocery shopping trips or to remember when to take their medication. Residing in an assisted living facility would enable them to enjoy the hobbies they love, without having to worry about having the energy and strength to attend to these necessary chores.

Both assisted living facilities, like the Corridor, and help from a home care professional are viable options when it comes to keeping your senior happy, healthy, and safe. However, there are some differences to know about these two eldercare options. When it comes to in-home care, Iowa seniors cite privacy as a major reason why they enjoy this option.

The home care option ensures that this senior has food in their refrigerator, that they are bathed, and that they take their medication. However, they do not have to worry about living in close quarters with other people as they would in an assisted living facility. 

Home health care is a smart option for someone who is able to handle most household duties, yet struggles with more physically intensive tasks. An assisted living facility, on the other hand, is better suited for those who are still cognitively aware, yet lack the ability to safely enter and exit the shower, remember to take daily medications, or prepare meals. 

For many people, cost is a major deciding factor when it comes to choosing between these two options. Home health care plans are often highly customizable, depending on that senior’s needs, thus making them appealing.