Do you live far away from your elderly loved one and need to help care for them? Maybe they need help with their finances, personal hygiene, meal prep, in-home medical care, or other types of care. If this is the case, and you are a long-distance family caregiver, it may be time to hire home care services for your elderly loved one. There are some other things to improve your elderly loved ones care even though you are far away, as well.
Educating Yourself
One of the ways that you can help your elderly loved one, even from far away, is by educating yourself. If your elderly loved one has a health condition, learn all that you can about the treatments and care they may need for that condition. If they need someone to help with medication management for that condition, you can get them home care services. You can learn all about the other things that your elderly loved one might need, as well. This may include regular doctors appointments, companionship, lifestyle management, and more. Once you learn what needs your elderly loved one has, you can better help them, even from a distance.
Better Communication
If you are a long-distance family caregiver, you can still help your elderly loved one by having better methods of communication with them. If you dont currently keep in touch with your elderly loved one on a regular basis, it is time to change that. Set up a schedule that allows you to reach out to your elderly loved one at least a couple times each week. Even if you have hired your elderly loved one home care assistance, it is still beneficial for you to reach out to your loved one. You can talk to them just to catch up and to see if they have any needs that arent being met.
Encourage Continued Connections
As your loved one gets older, it is even more important for them to connect with family members and friends. This is going to give them something to look forward to. It is also going to allow others to know how they are doing. If something is wrong and your elderly loved one is talking to multiple people on a regular basis, someone is more likely to catch it. Encourage your elderly loved one to connect with their family members and friends through video calls, regular phone calls, and text messages.
These are some of the ways that you can help your elderly loved one even as a long-distance family caregiver.
Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/promoting-wellness-older-patients
https://www.nutrition.gov/topics/audience/older-individuals
If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Maple Grove, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.
