Making the decision to bring in additional help such as homecare providers for your elderly family member is a big change, for both you and your senior. It’s a change that she might not be all that excited about, to be honest, and that might mean that you need to take some extra care with how you bring someone into her life.
Talk about What Your Senior Wants, Needs, and Expects
When you and your senior start discussing 24-hour home care, make sure that you understand what she wants from the next few years of her life. Is she determined to stay at home? Does she want to do as much as she can herself or is she open to help? Understanding what she expects from you, what she wants from the future, and what she needs is going to help you to put together the solutions that are actually going to work for her and for you.
Set Some Boundaries that Help Her to Feel Comfortable
Often when seniors refuse help from family caregivers and even from elder care providers, it’s because they are uncomfortable with the idea in some way. What’s making your senior feel uncomfortable? Sometimes it’s about independence. Other times it’s about the fact that accepting help feels overwhelming in some way. Getting to the bottom of what’s causing your senior to feel uncomfortable helps you to put the right boundaries in place for your senior.
Address Safety Concerns
Another reason to bring in 24-hour home care is to make your senior’s living situation as safe as possible. If your elderly family member is having a tough time keeping up with household tasks or is having issues with mobility, then having assistance on demand is really important for keeping her safe. There may be some physical modifications of her space that can help even more, too. Addressing every layer of safety can seriously improve the odds that your elderly family member is going to be able to feel and be secure in her home.
Reassess Your Senior’s Goals
Over time, it is important that you and your senior reassess what’s working and what is not working. That’s going to help you to adjust the help that your elderly family member is getting so that it more fully meets her actual needs. Senior care providers can be instrumental in helping you to more fully understand what your senior needs, too. They’re there with your elderly family member, so they’re able to express to you what is happening for your senior and what would make her life easier and better.
Addressing quality of life issues is a lot easier when you and your senior are on the same page. That might not be the case when you first suggest bringing in additional help for her, but if you and she stay open-minded and talk about what she is experiencing, that is a lot easier for you to accomplish. Be gentle with your senior and give her a chance to warm up to the changes she needs to make.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Homecare in Lexington, MA, or the surrounding areas please contact the caring staff at Visiting Nurse & Community Care today. (781) 643-6090