For National Family Caregiver Month, we have covering one topic relating to family caregivers a week. Today, we are going to discuss how family members who do not live in the same area as their older adult loved one can help them. Next week, we are going to discuss how family caregivers can collaborate these family members. Today we are going to focus on the older adult.
Get In Touch With Their Support
One way that family members can stay involved is to familiarize themselves with their loved one’s support system, either when they visit or over the phone or email. This can mean going to doctor’s appointments, or physical therapy appointments, or letting their friends and neighbors know how to contact you. This way you’ll be in the loop about your loved one’s life without physically being there.
Set Up Care
Next, helping out our loved ones is so much easier to do nowadays. The great thing about the internet is you can set up care for you loved one from afar. You can set up care with us remotely, of course. But there are other great resources that you can set up. Laundry services are great, there are some where you just set out your laundry and they come get it and deliver it back to you clean. There are services that will deliver cooked and/or microwavable meals to people, especially seniors.
Stay tuned for next week where we talk about ways that family members who don’t live with their older relatives can help the family caregivers that are in the area.
Written by Brigid Stakelum
