Caring for the people you love can be an honor, but it can quickly become an overwhelming task, too. It can be difficult to maintain your daily routine—whether you’re working, raising a family, or both—while simultaneously caring for your aging parents. It’s natural to want them to have the best possible care, and passing that responsibility to someone else can involve some hard decisions.
Here are a few things to keep in mind while researching care for your parents:
Assess their current needs
The first step to keep in mind is what your parents need physically and mentally. Think about the main tasks that seniors need help with: mobility, transportation, medications, personal care, and nutrition. It’s not uncommon for seniors to require a little extra assistance for day-to-day tasks, but are they struggling more with a specific task? What about their mental health? Do you find that your parent is becoming forgetful, or maybe even lonely?
There are multiple caregiving options available (personal care, memory care, companion care, travel care), so it’s important to take note of your parent’s needs before choosing a home care service. Once you have an idea of the type of care needed, you can delve into further research.
Research financial aspects
A crucial step in the process of allowing your parents to age gracefully is to do your research on the financial commitment of senior care. There is no wrong way to finance home care; it’s just a matter of properly looking into each option. Consider exploring Medicare options, private pay, and government or community programs. If your loved one is a veteran, look into benefits they could potentially receive thanks to their service. Another option you could explore is a personal line of credit. A personal line of credit is a set amount of money from which you can borrow in a given time period, only paying interest on the amount that you’ve drawn. Knowing the different options available to you or whoever is funding the care is an essential part of the research process, so don’t hesitate to get all the details on any financial option you’re considering.
Look for an extraordinary caregiver
It can be difficult to accept the fact that you need to find extra care for your parents because you can’t do it all yourself. For many family members, it can be one of the toughest decisions to have to make. You want to find someone who will love and care for your parents the same way you do. This is arguably the most important part of the research process: don’t settle for care that’s anything short of extraordinary. This means that while researching care for your parents, take time to look for a caregiver who is patient, compassionate, detail-oriented, and present. You’ll be able to rest easy knowing that the person you love the most is being taken care of by someone who has their best interest and wellbeing at the forefront.
Remember that you know your loved ones and what their priorities are more than anyone else. Doing the proper research to ensure they’re taken care of—physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially—will help give you peace of mind in the future.