Monday, September 21, 2015

Caring for an Elderly Parent





As many seniors are now living well into their 70’s and beyond, more adult children are faced with making decisions regarding the kind of care their elderly parents need.  And to further complicate matters, families with multiple siblings do not always necessarily agree on the course of action to take when parents require assistance to ensure their continued safety and wellbeing. 

When this happens, the experts advise families to thoroughly discuss the various care options available before the situation reaches a critical stage.  Neal Cutler, PhD, dean of the American Institute of Financial Gerontology and the executive director of the Center on Aging for the Motion Picture and Television Fund in Woodlawn Hills, CA, suggests families "Anticipate that these are decisions and choices that are best made before a crisis happens."  He further adds, "Sit down with everyone together, and talk about what you want to do, whether it's a financial issue or geographical issue. The key is conversation rather than crisis management."
    
The WebMD site has several tips to help families plan for the care of an aging parent.  If possible they recommend starting a discussion regarding long-term care with a parent while they are still in good mental and physical health.  In addition this is an ideal time to talk about appointing a health care proxy and creating a living will. 

If one family member is going to act as the primary caregiver for the parent, the rest of the siblings will need to figure out how they can provide support - be it financial, by doing paperwork or to help with the physical care.  Keep in mind that there are many excellent home care agencies such as SYNERGY HomeCare that provide a broad range of physical care services available on a daily basis or as often as the need arises.    
   

SYNERGY HomeCare is one of the most trusted agencies in the Greater Austin area for non-medical home care.  Our affordable, reliable and compassionate services provide families with everything from live-in care to short term wellness visits.  Contact us for a complementary home visit to discuss the ways we can provide your family with the best professional care.

Source:webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/role-reversal-caregiving-for-aging-parents?page=3

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